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 Bokhara'i

About

Age: 28
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Shi'a)
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: December 28, 1981
Location of Killing: Evin Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Corruption on earth; Murder of persons and/or killing Muslims or/and freedom fighters; Working with or for a foreign power; Counter revolutionary opinion and/or speech; Plotting to overthrow the Islamic Republic

About this Case

The news about execution of Mr. Bokharai was announced by the public relations office of prosecution of the central branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court and was published in Kayhan newspaper on December 28, 1981. The press release reads as follows: “In the name of God, kill them until there is no more discord [in Arabic in the text of the communiqué and translated in Farsi]. Muslim Umma of Iran, God’s promise to you is that those who are corrupt will face nothing but humiliation and misery, and those who are believers will face triumph. This unwritten truth is as visible and clear in the lives of our prophets as is the sun. Therefore, the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which is duly responsible for the annihilation of puppet conspirators and mercenaries, will fulfill its religious duty by implementing God’s laws and sentencing corruptors on earth for their hideous crimes.”

Also, Mr. Bokhara’i is one of the 12,028 individuals listed in an addendum to the Mojahed magazine (No 261), published in 1985 by the Mojahedin Khalq Organization. The list includes individuals, affiliated with various opposition groups, who were executed or killed during clashes with the Islamic Republic security forces from June 1981 to the publication date of the magazine.

Additional information about Mr. Bokhara’i was sent via an electronic form by a person informed about his case. According to this information, Mr. Bokhara’i, son of Ali Akbar, was born in Tehran in 1950. He began his political activities in high school after becoming familiar with the Mojahedin Khalq Organization. Before the revolution, Mr. Bokhara’i had been arrested, imprisoned and tortured in several times. He was condemned to a life in prison but was released in 1979 along with other political prisoners. According to the information provided in the electronic form, after the revolution, he became a high ranking member of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization and in charge of the medical aid of the organization. He was known among his friends and relatives for his sense of humor. Those who knew him still remember his kind green eyes and his innocent smile.

The Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) was founded in 1965. This organization adapted the principals of Islam as its ideological guideline. However, its members’ interpretation of Islam was revolutionary and they believed in armed struggle against the Shah’s regime. They valued Marxism as a progressive method for economic and social analysis but considered Islam as their source of inspiration, culture, and ideology. In the 1970s, the MKO was weakened when many of its members were imprisoned and executed. In 1975, following a deep ideological crisis, the organization refuted Islam as its ideology and, after a few of its members were killed and other Muslim members purged, the organization proclaimed Marxism as its ideology. This move led to split of the Marxist-Leninist Section of the MKO in 1977. In January of 1979, the imprisoned Muslim leaders of the MKO were released along with other political prisoners. They began to re-organize the MKO and recruit new members based on Islamic ideology. After the 1979 Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the MKO accepted the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini and supported the Revolution. Active participation in the political scene and infiltration of governmental institutions were foremost on the organization’s agenda. During the first two years after the Revolution, the MKO succeeded in recruiting numerous sympathizers, especially in high schools and universities; but its efforts to gain political power, either by appointment or election, were strongly opposed by the Islamic Republic leaders.*

Arrest and detention

According to the information sent by the electronic form, he was arrested in Tehran in 1981 and was tortured severely during his detention. A prisoner had witnessed him with broken bones chained to a water heater radiator in a hallway in Evin Prison.

Trial

No information is available on Mr. Bokhara’i’s trial.

Charges

According to the press release of the public relations office of prosecution of the central branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court that was published in Kayhan newspaper on December 28, 1981, Mr. Bokhara’i’s crimes are as follows: (1) being one of the main cadre of “Monafeqin” (“hypocrites”); (2) plundering and concealing weapons and ammunitions from the Muslim Treasury for the benefit of the above mentioned American grouplet; (3) being involved in the martyrdom of 72 true disciples of Imam, including Rajai the martyr and BaaHonar the martyr, at the central office of the Islamic Republic party; (4) taking part in the escape of the central cadre of the terrorist and bloodthirsty Monafeqin from facing the Islamic justice; (5)deviating the youth to turn so that they ended up turning their back to Islam; (6) being a decision maker in the armed opposition to the Islamic Regime; (7) serious attempt to overthrow the Islamic Regime of Iran; (8) plundering the regime’s documents immediately after the triumph of the revolution; (9) establishment and leadership of Qadr association related to Monafeqin; (10) leadership of high school and university student groups and providing them directives from his organization; (11) responsibility for Monafeqin’s military logistics; (12) meeting with Sheikh Ezzoddin Hosseini, the traitor, in order to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran; (13) Insulting Imam Khomeini the leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The validity of the criminal charges brought against Mr. Bokhara’i cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.

Evidence of guilt

The report of Mr. Bokhara’i’s execution did not provide any specific information on the evidence presented against him.

Defense

No information is available on the Mr. Bokhara’i’s defense.

Judgment

No specific information is available about Mr. Bokhara’i’s execution. According to the press release of the public relations office of prosecution of the central branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court he was found to be “corrupt on earth” and was executed inside the Evin Prison. Based on the information provided in the electronic form, he was executed on December 28, 1981.

*The exclusion of MKO members from government offices and the closure of their centers and publishing houses, in conjunction with to the Islamic Republic authorities’ different interpretation of Islam, widened the gap between the two. Authorities of the new regime referred to the Mojahedin as “Hypocrites” and the Hezbollahi supporters of the regime attacked the Mojahedin sympathizers regularly during demonstrations and while distributing publications, leading to the death of several MKO supporters. On June 20, 1981, the MKO called for a demonstration protesting their treatment by governmental officials and the government officials’ efforts to impeach their ally, President Abolhassan Banisadr. Despite the fact that the regime called this demonstration illegal, thousands came to the streets, some of whom confronted the Revolutionary Guardsmen and Hezbollahis. The number of casualties that resulted from this demonstration is unknown but a large number of demonstrators were arrested and executed in the following days and weeks. The day after the demonstration, the Islamic Republic regime started a repressive campaign – unprecedented in modern Iranian history. Thousands of MKO members and sympathizers were arrested or executed. On June 21, 1981, the MKO announced an armed struggle against the Islamic Republic and assassinated a number of high-ranking officials and supporters of the Islamic regime. *

In the summer of 1981, the leader of the MKO and the impeached President (Banisadr) fled Iran to reside in France, where they founded the National Council of Resistance. After the MKO leaders and many of its members were expelled from France, they went to Iraq and founded the National Liberation Army of Iran in 1987, which entered Iranian territory a few times during the Iran-Iraq war. They were defeated in July 1988 during their last operation, the Forugh Javidan Operation. A few days after this operation, thousands of imprisoned Mojahedin supporters were killed during the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. Ever since the summer of 1981, the MKO has continued its activities outside of Iran. No information is available regarding members and activities of the MKO inside the country.

In spite of the “armed struggle” announcement by the MKO on June 20, 1981, many sympathizers of the organization had no military training, were not armed, and did not participate in armed conflict.

Correct/ Complete This Entry