Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Mehdi Alavi Shushtari

About

Age: 25
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: June 27, 1980
Location of Killing: Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Sedition and/ or threat to public security; Actively opposing the Islamic Republic

About this Case

Mr. Alavi Shushtari dove into projects of assistance and support in Khuzestan and his native city of Ahvaz.  There, at Jondi Shapur University, he joined students resisting Khomeini’s Cultural Revolution. 

Information regarding Mr. Mehdi Alavi Shushtari was obtained from an interview with his mother and an electronic form regarding his case sent to Omid by an individual close to him.

In addition, the execution of Mr. Alavi Shushtari was announced in Jomhuri Eslami and Enghelab Eslami newspapers on June 29, 1980 , and also in Peykar, the publication of the Peykar Organization (No. 61, June 30, 1980; addendum to No. 83, December 1, 1980 and No. 111, June 22, 1981).

He is also one of 451 individuals whose name appears on the list of “Martyrs of the Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class” published on the website of Peykar. TheColumbus Ledger also published an article about his execution on July 3, 1980.

Mr. Alavi Shushtari was born in Ahvaz in 1953. He was arrested in 1974 due to his affiliation with a student group, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. After his release, he went to the United States to continue his education. Being dissatisfied with the direction of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, he returned to Iran. He then enrolled in Ahvaz University, majoring in mathematics. In 1979, he became a member of an organization of students who were sympathizers of the Peykar Organization. Those close to Mr. Alavi Shushtari describe him as a very generous and giving person. When some areas of Khuzestan Province were affected by floods he rushed to assist the people in the region. He founded a library in Zeytun Kargari, a working class neighborhood in Ahvaz. Mr. Alavi Shushtari excelled in his studies at all levels. One of his college instructors in the United States referred to him as the “most brilliant” student he has ever had. He enjoyed cycling and reading. His favorite food was sabzipolo, which he called “polosabz” (green rice) since his childhood.

The Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class was founded by a number of dissident members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization who had converted to Marxism-Leninism. Peykar was also joined by a number of political organizations, known as Khat-e Se (Third line). The founding tenets of Peykar included the rejection of guerrilla struggle and a strong stand against the pro-Soviet policies of the Iranian Tudeh Party. Peykar viewed the Soviet Union as a “social-imperialist” state, believed that China had deviated from the Marxist-Leninist principles, and radically opposed all factions of the Islamic regime of Iran. The brutal repression of dissidents by the Iranian government and splits within Peykar in 1981 and 1982 effectively dismantled the Organization and scattered its supporters. By the mid-1980s, Peykar was no longer in existence.

The Cultural Revolution began after Ayatollah Khomeini gave a speech in March 1980 and ordered that universities be purged of all those who opposed his regime and be transformed into “learning environments” [as opposed to political forums] where “an all-Islamic curriculum” is taught. The first wave of violence began on April 15, 1980 during a speech by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [a member of the Council of the Islamic Revolution and Minister of Interior] at the University of Tabriz. Following the speech, students supporting the regime took control of the University’s central building and demanded that the “university be purged” from “pro-Shah elements and other sellouts.”*

Arrest and detention

Mr. Alavi Shushtari he was arrested during unrest in Jondi Shapur University in Ahvaz on April 22, 1979 (Boroumand Foundation interview with his mother, August 9, 2012,, Peykar magazine December 1, 1980). On that day the state-run radio asked people to enter the university and throw out the students resisting the Cultural Revolution. The Friday Prayer leader had also asked the people to join him in a mass prayer to be held on university grounds on that day.

According to Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s mother, the authorities searched their residence one day after his arrest, and they took his books and documents. The authorities refused to give any information on Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s status to his family for a month and a half after his arrest.

Mr. Alavi Shushtari had two visits with his family after his arrest. The first visit was a month and a half after he was arrested. During this visit Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s mother noticed stitches on his forehead, indicating that it was broken. Revolutionary Guards and prison officials were disruptive during this visit, and they did not allow Mr. Alavi Shushtari to talk to his family freely. The second and last visit was on June 25, 1980, a day before his execution. On that day he told his parents that that he had experienced different methods of torture from what was used before the Revolution. For example, he mentioned simulated executions as a method of torture.

Trial

The exact date of Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s trial is not known. However, according to a letter he wrote to his family from prison on May 3, 1980, he had not been tried by that date. Therefore, his trial has taken place between May 3 and June 26, 1980. According to Peykar (addendum to No. 83, December 1, 1980), Mr. Alavi Shushtari and five other individuals were tried at the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Ahvaz in a session lasting over one hour. The secretary recorded the proceedings, and the accused signed their own statements of defense.

Charges

Based on the Jomhuri Eslami report, Mr. Alavi Shushtari was charged with the following: “participation in the Jondi Shapur University clashes in Ahvaz, resulting in several cases of murder and battery against innocent civilians, and attacking people and throwing rocks at them so much so that, according to his own confession, his hand was torn and he passed out from fatigue.” He was also charged with “taking a stance against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

According to Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s mother, the state-run radio and government officials had stated that the arrested students were “waging war against God” and “infidels.”

According to the Peykar website, Mr. Alavi Shushtari was charged with propaganda against the Cultural Revolution.

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.

Evidence of guilt

According to Peykar magazine Mr. Alavi Shushtari identified himself as a Marxist-Leninist at the trial and proclaimed his opposition to the regime (addendum to No. 83, December 1, 1980). Based on the information published in the same magazine, before the trial the authorities had claimed that Mr. Alavi Shushtari was one of the individuals causing the unrest at the university, and they had distributed pictures of him and other individuals throughout the city.

Defense

Mr. Alavi Shushtari was denied a defense attorney. In an account published in the addendum to the 83rd issue of Peykar magazine, another Peykar member related Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s description of his defense. According to this account, Mr. Alavi Shushtari defended his Marxist-Leninist ideology and his membership in Peykar Organization. He argued that political activity in universities was an inalienable right. He also stated that Government supporters had planned an assault on Jondi Shapur University in advance. According to this account, the time allotted for the defense in their trial was only ten minutes. It is not clear whether each of the six defendants were given ten minutes or they were given ten minutes in total.

In a letter to his family dated May 3, 1980, Mr. Alavi Shushtari indicated that he had not been tried yet. He also predicted that he would be executed based on what he had observed while in prison.

Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s mother indicated that the charge of waging war against God was baseless, and she stressed that he was never armed.

Judgment

The Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Ahvaz condemned Mr. Mehdi Alavi Shushtari to death. He was executed by a firing squad on June 27, 1980.

Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s family was never informed about his verdict or his execution. After he was executed, his family received a phone call from Jondi Shapur hospital telling them that a number of university students had been executed, and that their bodies were in the hospital. When his family took possession of his body, the authorities told them that they can only bury him in a special section of the cemetery, known as “La’nat-abad,” which means “the land of the damned.” After his funeral the Mr. Alavi Shushtari’s family were harassed by the Revolutionary Guards, who did not allow the family of executed individuals to gather in the cemetery to pay their respects to their loved ones.

During his last visit with his parents, Mr. Alavi Shushtari gave his jeans to his mother, asking her not wash them. The jeans had dried blood below the knee. Mr. Alavi Shushtari had written this sentence inside his jeans: “I enjoy life and I detest death, but I prefer death with honor.”

 

* On April 18, the Council of the Islamic Revolution issued a communiqué accusing political groups of converting higher education institutions into “headquarters of discordant political activities” and naming them as obstacles to the radical transformation of the universities. The communiqué gave these groups three days (Saturday April 19 to Monday April 21) to shut down their activities in the universities. The Council stressed that the decision included libraries along with activities related to arts and sports. Political groups, which recruited members and had strong support in the universities, refused to evacuate.

Before the end of the Council’s deadline, serious clashes took place between leftist groups and Islamist Associations, in opposition to the Associations, sometimes supported by security forces and paramilitary groups. These clashes, which peaked at the end of the three-day deadline, resulted in the death of several people and the wounding of hundreds of others on university campuses around the country. The Jondi Shapur University in Ahvaz was among universities in which students resisted the revolutionary government’s efforts.

On April 21, the Islamic Republic authorities announced the victory of the Cultural Revolution and the closure of all universities in order to Islamicize the curricula. The universities remained closed for two years. One of the outcomes of the Cultural Revolution was the purging of many university professors and students based on their political beliefs.

Correct/ Complete This Entry