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

Zohreh Einolyaqin

About

Age: 34
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: August, 1988
Location of Killing: Evin Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Counter revolutionary opinion and/or speech; War on God, God's Prophet and the deputy of the Twelfth Imam

About this Case

Ms. Zohreh 'Einolyaqin is one of 1,000 people identified in a UN Human Rights Commission's Special Representative's Report, "Names and Particulars of Persons Allegedly Executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran during the period July-December 1988," published January 26, 1989. The report specifies that although 1,000 names are mentioned, "in all probability" there were several thousand victims. "Most of the alleged victims were members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). However, members of the Tudeh Party, People's Fedaiyan Organization, Rahe Kargar, and Komala Organization as well as 11 mollahs were also said to be among the alleged victims."

Ms. Zohreh 'Einolyaqin is listed among 3,208 members and sympathizers of the People's Mojahedin of Iran Organization (PMIO) whose execution was reported by the Organization in a book entitled Crime Against Humanity. This book documents the 1988-89 mass execution of political prisoners. Additional information was drawn from the Bidaran website and the PMIO website. She was born in Esfahan. She had a bachelors degree and was a sympathizer of the MKO. She was a MKO candidate for the parliament (Majles) election in 1979.

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known. Ms. Zohreh 'Einolyaqin was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison during 1981.

Trial

Ms. Zohreh 'Einolyaqin was tried and condemned to 15 years imprisonment. There is no information about the trial, just as there is no specific information of any such trials that condemned thousands of political prisoners to death in just a few months period. The relatives of political prisoners executed in 1988 refute the legality of the judicial process that resulted in thousands of executions throughout Iran. In their 1988 open letter to then- Minister of Justice Dr. Habibi, they argue that the official secrecy surrounding these executions is proof of their illegality. They note that an overwhelming majority of these prisoners had been tried and sentenced to prison terms, which they were either serving or had already completed serving at the time they were retried and sentenced to death.

Charges

No charge has been publicly levelled against the defendant. In their letters to the Minister of Justice (1988), and to the UN Special Rapporteur visiting Iran (February 2003), the families of the victims refer to the accusations against the prisoners that may have led to their execution. These accusations include being "counter-revolutionary, anti-religion, and anti-Islam," as well as being "associated with military action or with various [opposition] groups based near the borders."

An edict from the Leader of the Islamic Republic, reproduced in the memoirs of his designated successor, Ayatollah Montazeri, corroborates the reported claims regarding the charges against the executed prisoners. In this edict, Ayatollah Khomeini refers to the PMIO's members as "hypocrites" who do not believe in Islam and "who wage war against God" and decrees that prisoners who still approve of the positions taken by this organization are also "waging war against God" and should be sentenced to death.

Evidence of guilt

The report of this execution contains no evidence provided against the defendant.

Defence

No information is available about the defendant’s defence. In their open letter, the families of the prisoners note that defendants were not given the opportunity to defend themselves in court. Against the assertion that prisoners were associated with guerrilla forces operating near the borders, the families submit the isolation of their relatives from the outside during their detention: "Our children lived in most difficult conditions. Our visits were limited to 10 minutes behind a glass divider through a telephone every two weeks. We witnessed, over seven years, that they were denied access to anything that would have allowed them to establish contacts outside their prison walls." Under such conditions the families reject the claim of the authorities that these prisoners were able to engage with the political groups outside Iran.

Judgment

No specific information is available about the defendant’s execution. According to the MKO website, Ms. Zohreh 'Einolyaqin was hanged during the mass killings of the political prisoners in Evin Prison during August 1988.

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