He had been threatened and harassed many times in the Netherlands by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran regime and had informed the police.

Information about the life and extrajudicial execution of Mr. Ahmad Mola (Abunahez) Nissi, known as Ahmad Mola, son of Sheikh Mola Al-Shamil, has been obtained from the websites of Ahvaz Human Rights Organization (November 9, 2017 and November 3, 2019), The Ahwaz Arabic Liberation Movement (November 8, 2017), Al-Arabiya (November 10, November 16, 2017, and December 27, 2018), Reuters (November 18 and December 18, 2019), The Guardian (January 8, 2010), Tabnak quoting Kayhan newspaper (November 12, 2017), Dutch and English language websites Omroep West (November 11 and November 22, 2017), Der Standard (July 8, 2018), Een Vandaag (January 9, 2019), NL Times (June 19, 2021 and October 15, 2023), Den Haag Centraal (January 9, 2019), Tasnim News Agency (July 10, 2018) and Volkskrant (November 1, 2022). 

Mr. Nissi was born in Shoaibiyeh village a district in the county of Shushtar. He was married and had four children. According to the available information, Mr. Nissi was an Arab political activist and the general secretary and founder of the separatist organization "Ahwaz Arabic Liberation Movement.“ 

In 2005, following several military operations carried out by his organization (bombing of oil facilities, armed attack on several banks), Mr. Nissi was forced to leave Iran and migrated to the Netherlands with his family via Syria. A while later, he obtained his Dutch citizenship. He first moved to Maastricht and then, in 2008, due to lack of security, he moved to The Hague and lived there for 8 years. Mr. Nissi continued his political activities against Iran in the Netherlands, organizing demonstrations and conferences. According to al-Arabiya, He sought the unification of Sunni groups and organizations, and to that end, he had also met with the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. The Syrian Liberation Army also supported the formation of an Ahvaz battalion (Al-Arabiya English, November 10, 2017). 

After Mr. Nissi's departure from Iran, the Iranian government called him a “terrorist” and asked Interpol police to arrest and return him to Iran (IRNA). 

According to a media report, he sought the unification of Sunni groups and organizations, and to that end, he had also met with the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. The Syrian Liberation Army also supported the formation of an “Ahvaz battalion.” (Al-Arabiya English - November 10, 201) Mr. Nissi continued his political activities against Iran in the Netherlands, organizing demonstrations and conferences.  

In 2005, following several military operations carried out by his organization (bombing of oil facilities, armed attack on several banks), Mr. Nissi was forced to leave Iran and migrated to the Netherlands with his family via Syria. A while later, he obtained his Dutch citizenship. He first moved to Maastricht and then, in 2008, due to lack of security, he moved to The Hague and lived there for 8 years.

According to a 2017 report by Dutch police in Dutch media, during the 10 years he lived in the Netherlands, Mr. Nissi was repeatedly threatened and harassed by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He reported these incidents to the Dutch police at least seven times, filing reports on each occasion, expressing his concerns. In 2010, he was forced to leave Maastricht with his family due to these threats. In 2012, he reported to the Dutch police that the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence had contacted him and felt that he was in danger. In the same year, he informed the police that Iranian TV had reported that he was on an assassination list. In January 2013, one of his acquaintances also confirmed this by appearing at the police headquarters. However, the police informed him that there was nothing they could do to keep him safe and that he should be careful himself. In 2014, Nissi informed the police that he was sentenced to death in Iran and two of his friends had been attacked in the Netherlands. His final report to the Dutch police was in 2016. Some of these complaints were reported to the regional intelligence agency (Volkskrant). He told his family in the days leading up to his death that he felt like he was being followed on the street (Dutch-language website Een Vandaag, Den Haag Centraal). Even a year before his murder, an Iranian asylum seeker had also warned the immigration services and the Dutch intelligence agency that an assassination attempt was planned against Nissi. He had no bodyguard (NL Times).

In October 2023, following a complaint by Mr. Nissi’s family in 2021/2022, the Netherlands intelligence and security service confirmed it had been informed of the dangere to Mr. Nissi’s life, but had not brought it to the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office for investigation (NL Times). 

Ahwaz Arabic Liberation Movement

The organization, also known as the Al-Ahvaz Group, is a paramilitary organization that seeks to establish an independent state in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. In an interview with Reuters news agency in November 2017, Nissi said that this movement wants to "liberate the people and land of Ahvaz, which is occupied by Iranians" (Reuters, November 9, 2017). 

Background of the Ahvaz Bombing

Subsequent to the publication of a letter ascribed to a government official concerning systematic modification of the fabric of Khuzestan Province’s ethnic Arab population, demonstrations broke out on Friday, April 15, 2005, in [the city of] Ahvaz, and then in [the town of] Hamidideh. In quashing the demonstrations, security and police forces resorted to violence, which led to the death and injury of dozens of protestors and resulted in the protests and the unrest spreading to a number of other Khuzestan cities, continuing for at least 10 days.** These protests were the beginning of a series of incidents, including widespread arrests, multiple bombings, and successive executions in Ahvaz. For instance, a series of bombings followed on June 12 and October 15, 2005, and on January 24 and February 27, 2006, in various regions of Ahvaz, Abadan, and Dezful. These bombings were carried out in front of government buildings and in public places and left in their wake more than 20 dead and dozens injured.*** According to government sources, other bombings (targeting oil pipelines and non-residential regions around Ahvaz) occurred at the end of summer and in the fall of 2005, which did not leave any casualties.

In response to the Ahvaz bombings, security forces arrested dozens of the region’s ethnic Arab individuals, charging them with participation in the bombings. They were then kept in solitary confinement cells, for months, at the Information Ministry’s Detention Center.  People being held were subjected to torture, in order to confess having taken part in the bombings. According to the Ahvaz Prosecutor, ultimately a total of four cases were opened at the Revolutionary Court, Special Branch, and at least 45 individuals were charged. Dozens of these individuals were tried in closed sessions and were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court. At least 19 of these sentences were carried out. Dozens of other Arab citizens were given long-term sentences.

Government officials never accepted that these bombings had internal reasons which had arisen following the Khuzestan incidents. In multiple, and sometimes contradictory, statements, political and judicial authorities imputed responsibility to groups opposing [the Islamic Republic], including, “Those loyal to the previous regime and residing in England;” “Fugitive SAVAK (the Shah’s security and intelligence apparatus) members, and family members of the destroyed Monafeqin (MKO);” “Wahabis;” “secessionists;” and/or to groups affiliated with the UK and other foreign countries. The Iranian government officially accused the UK of involvement in the bombings and declared that the bombers had been trained in Iraq, in regions under British army control, where they had acquired their arms and explosives. In one such statement, then-President Mahmud Ahmadinejad spoke of the clear and obvious footprint of Iraq’s occupiers in the Khuzestan incidents. (ISNA, January 25, 2006). The British government officially denied these accusations and expressed its concern regarding such statements made by Iranian officials. (BBC, November 1, 2005).

The televised confessions of a number of those arrested were broadcast several times on local TV and on Iran’s English language, Press TV. In one of these programs, broadcast on local TV on November 13, 2006, 10 of these individuals declared themselves to be members of “Katibeh Shohadaye Mohiuddin Al Nasser,” (“Mohiuddin Al Nasser Martyrs Brigade,”) or (the military wing of the Al-Nazal movement). No group officially accepted responsibility for the Ahvaz bombings. However, a video recording was distributed in the name of Katibeh Shohadaye Mohiuddin Al Nasser and “Harakat Al-Nazal Al-Arabi Le-Tahrir Al-Ahwaz (“The Arab Struggle Movement For The Liberation Of Al Ahwaz”), showing some of the bombings, including the explosion in front of the Natural Resources Organization building and oil pipeline explosions. At a later time, Harakat Al-Nazal officially accepted responsibility for some of the oil pipeline explosions.

Background of Extrajudicial Killings by the Islamic Republic of Iran 

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of politically motivated violence in Iran and around the world. Since the 1979 Revolution, Islamic Republic operatives inside and outside the country have engaged in kidnapping, disappearing, and killing a large number of individuals whose activities they deemed undesirable. The actual number of the victims of extrajudicial killings inside Iran is not clear; however, these murders began in February 1979 and have continued since then, both inside and outside Iran. The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center has so far identified over 540 killings outside Iran attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dissidents have been assassinated by the agents of the Islamic Republic outside Iran in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, India, and Pakistan in Asia; Dubai, Iraq, and Turkey in the Middle East; Cyprus, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Great Britain in Europe; and the United States across the Atlantic Ocean. In most cases, there has not been much published, and local authorities have not issued arrest warrants. But documentation, evidence, and traces obtained through investigations conducted by local police and judicial authorities confirm the theory of state committed crimes. In some instances, these investigations have resulted in the expulsion or arrest of Iranian diplomats. In a few cases outside Iran, the perpetrators of these murders have been arrested and put on trial. The evidence presented revealed the defendants’ connection to Iran’s government institutions, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Iran’s Minister of Information.

The manner in which these killings were organized and implemented in Iran and abroad is indicative of a single pattern which, according to Roland Chatelin, the Swiss prosecutor, contains common parameters and detailed planning. It can be ascertained from the similarities between these murders in different countries that the Iranian government is the principal entity that ordered the implementation of these crimes. Iranian authorities have not officially accepted responsibility for these murders and have even attributed their commission to internal strife in opposition groups. Nevertheless, since the very inception of the Islamic Republic regime, the Islamic Republic officials have justified these crimes from an ideological and legal standpoint. In the spring of 1979, Sadeq Khalkhali, the first Chief Shari’a Judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts, officially announced the regime’s decision to implement extrajudicial executions and justified the decision: “ … These people have been sentenced to death; from the Iranian people’s perspective, if someone wants to assassinate these individuals abroad, in any country, no government has any right to bring the perpetrator to trial as a terrorist, because such a person is the implementing agent of the sentence issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Court. Therefore, they are Mahduroddam and their sentence is death regardless of where they are.” More than 10 years after these proclamations, in a speech about the security forces’ success, Ali Fallahian, the regime’s Minister of Information, stated the following regarding the elimination of members of the opposition: “ … We have had success in inflicting damage to many of these little groups outside the country and on our borders.”

At the same time, various political, judicial, and security officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have, at different times and occasions, confirmed the existence of a long term government policy for these extrajudicial killings and in some cases their implementation. 

Read more about the background of extrajudicial killings in the Islamic Republic of Iran by clicking on the left hand highlight with the same title. 

Mr. Ahmad Mola Nissi’s Death 

Based on available information, Mr. Nissi was returning from the funeral of a friend accompanied by two of his friends when he was shot dead in front of his house in The Hague on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. Emergency and care services quickly arrived at the scene of the incident, but he died on the street. 

According to his companions, a person whose face was covered got out of a BMW and shot him from behind in the head with a Colt equipped with a silencer, and after he fell to the ground, shot him twice in the chest. The witnesses stated that the assailant fled the scene with the same car. Dutch police found the BMW 300 near the railway. This car was stolen two weeks prior to the assassination, and the license plate had been changed. 

In 2018, the Dutch police arrested people in connection with the murder case of Mr. Nissi and Mr. Motamed (Mohammedreza Kolahi Samadi), a political refugee who was murdered in 2015 in the city of Almere in the Netherlands. Common points were discovered between these murders, including the Iranian nationality of the two victims, the smuggling of cocaine from Latin America to Europe through Africa, as well as the connection of at least one of the two sentenced to prison for the murder of Mr. Kolahi, with Hezbollah in Lebanon (NL Times). 

Two years after the murder of Mr. Nissi, Dubai security forces arrested Ridouan Taghi, a Dutch-Moroccan**** citizen, who is accused of having played a role in the assassination of opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran abroad, including Mr. Nissi (Al-Arabiya). In a press conference, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service announced the arrest of this individual in Dubai and identified him as the person responsible for the murder of Mohammad Reza Kolahi and Ahmad Nissi. After being transferred to the Netherlands, this defendant was tried alongside 16 others in 2022 and charged with six murders and drug trafficking (NL Times). 

Dutch Authorities’ Reaction 

Based on the available information, initially, the police and then the Dutch government officials did not comment on the assassination of Mr. Nissi. 

On the night of the incident, Dutch police put out a statement that at the scene of the shooting in the city of The Hague, an individual who was attempting to escape the scene was arrested and detained as a suspect in the shooting. This person was released after a police investigation. 

On February 13, 2018, Dutch police showed a video recorded by a CCTV camera of a young man on Dutch TV Channel One. The Dutch police believed that this individual, who was walking near Mr. Nissi's residence on November 8, an hour and a half prior to Mr. Nissi’s killing, had information about this incident. The Netherland Public Prosecution Service also set a 20,000 Euro reward for any information regarding the man in the video, which was broadcast on television (Omroep West YouTube channel, July 3, 2018). 

A year later, on January 8, 2019, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands wrote in a letter to the parliament of this country that the Dutch intelligence service "has strong evidence that shows Iran intervened in the assassination attempt on two Dutch citizens of Iranian descent, in the city of Almere in 2015 and another in The Hague in 2017" (Guardian, January 8, 2019). In this regard, the European Union also imposed sanctions on Iran's Minister of Information and two other Iranian individuals. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at the time announced that, based on the information obtained from the security services of the Netherlands and other countries, Iran is probably responsible for the murder of Mr. Motamed (Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi) **** and Mr. Nissi in The Hague, both of whom were political opponents of the regime in Iran. The Foreign Affairs Minister of the Netherlands added that the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD has strong evidence of Iran's involvement in these murders. The Dutch government considered the Islamic Republic officials’ actions in the Netherlands and in Europe as a violation of the sovereignty of their country. Before these July 2018 statements, the Dutch government had expelled two diplomats of the Iranian embassy from the Netherlands, but at that time, the reasons for this expulsion had been suppressed (Guardian, January 8, 2019). 

Iranian Officials’ Reaction 

According to available information, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s embassy in The Hague, while publishing a statement, condemned the murder of Mr. Nissi, without mentioning his name and, while expressing regret for this incident, emphasized that the issue of the murder of this Iranian citizen will be seriously examined and that until there is light shed on this assassination, they will remain in contact and coordinate with Dutch authorities. This step taken by the embassy was seriously criticized inside Iran. 

The media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran named Mr. Nissi as "the leader of a terrorist group supported by Saudi Arabia with the aim of secession of Khuzestan through military action"; they wrote that the murder happened when he was launching a television channel whose staff were Saudi trained and funded (Tabnak website). They stated that the military branch of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz has carried out terrorist actions, including an attack on the oil pipelines and police headquarters, several times (Tabnak website). 

Tasnim News Agency affiliated with the IRGC's Quds Force in Iran attributed Mr. Nissi's death to "conflicts within the party and to the crime of trespassing and seizing the party's property" (Tasnim News Agency). 

The security and intelligence forces in Iran summoned Mr. Sheikh Mowla Al-Shimil, the father of Mr. Nissi, and warned him not to hold a ceremony for his son‘s death, and that should he disobey, they would arrest their relatives and their sons. On Thursday, November 9, 2017, Mr. Nissi’s two brothers were arrested, and after hours of threats and pressure to prevent the funeral ceremony from being held, one of the brothers was released, and his other remained in detention (Ahvaz Freedom Movement). 

On October 29, 2019, on the second anniversary of Mr. Nissi's murder, Iranian security and intelligence forces, without official authorization and arrest warrant, attacked his father's house in Shoaibiyeh village in the county of Shushtar and arrested 8 members of his family and relatives. They were transferred to Shushtar, Dezful and Ahvaz prisons (Ahwazi Human Rights Organization - AHRO). 

Family’s Reaction 

According to the available information, the family’s first reaction after the extrajudicial killing of Mr. Nissi was from the cousin, who unequivocally said, "The Iranian regime is behind this murder" (Omroep West Den Haag). 

While the police investigation was still ongoing, Mr. Nissi's daughter, Houra Nissi, held Iran responsible for his murder because her father was repeatedly threatened by agents of the Islamic Republic: "My father is neither the first nor the last activist who was abroad and killed here in Europe" (Omroep West Den Haag). 

Regarding her father's murder, Mr. Nissi’s daughter said that they came to Holland to be safe, but they don't feel safe there. She also considers her father's murder to be reminiscent of the series of murders of Iranian dissidents in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. She called upon European governments to do more to ensure the security of Iranian activists (Reuters, December 12, 2017). 

After the then-foreign minister of the Netherlands announced the possibility of Iran's participation in the murder of Mr. Nissi, those close to Mr. Nissi said: "While this news shocks and surprises us, this conclusion is consistent with our suspicions." They also welcomed the EU sanctions against Iran. But they considered the reprimands separate from the police investigation and expressed hope that the Dutch Security Organization information could help the police investigation and the perpetrators of the murder would be brought to justice. 

Impact on Family 

According to available information, after the incident, Mr. Nissi's family has been living in a safe house under the protection of the Dutch police for some time.

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* The official authorities never accepted that these bombings occurred due to internal reasons and took place in the wake of the incidents in Khuzestan. In numerous and sometimes contradictory statements, political and judicial authorities have assigned responsibility for the bombings to groups opposed to them, including "henchmen of the former regime living in England," "fugitive members of SAVAK and members of the families of dead hypocrites," "Wahhabis" and "Separatists" or groups affiliated with England and foreign countries. The Iranian government officially accused England of involvement in these bombings and announced that the perpetrators of the bombings were trained in areas under the control of the British army in Iraq and obtained their explosives and weapons from there. In one of these comments, then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke about the clear traces of the invaders of Iraq in the events of Khuzestan (ISNA, January 25, 2006). The British government officially denied these accusations and expressed concern about such statements made by Iranian officials (BBC, November 1, 2005)

** The televised confessions of some of the arrested individuals were aired several times on the local network and Iran's English-language Press TV. In one of these programs, which was broadcast on November 13, 2006, on the local network, ten of the defendants introduced themselves as members of the "Katiba Shahadai Mohiuddin Al Nasser" (the military branch of Harakat al-Nidal Movement). No group has officially claimed responsibility for the explosions in Ahvaz, but videos entitled Katiba (Battalion) Muhyiddin Al Nasser and Harakat al-Nidal al-Arabi la-Tahrir al-Ahvaz (Ahwaz Arabic Liberation Movement) have been released, which contain filmed images of some of the explosions, including the explosion in front of the Natural Resources Organization and the explosion of oil pipelines. In the following years, Harakat al-Nidal officially took responsibility for some explosions in oil pipelines. 

*** Ridouan Taghi is a citizen of the Netherlands and was born in Morocco. He is a professional thief, mercenary for hire, and arms and cocaine dealer who has close ties to Iran. He is referred to as the head of the "Angels of Death" criminal organization. It is said that Ridouan Taghi arrived at the Dubai airport with a fake identity and lived in one of the villas in this city. His arrest was a result of close cooperation between Dutch police and Interpol. 

**** Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi, who lived and worked as an electrician in the city of Almere in the Netherlands for many years under the name of Ali Motamed and had Dutch citizenship. On December 15, 2015, the 56-year-old was shot by two unknown men on the street in Almere and died in the hospital. His murderers were tried in court and sentenced to prison.