Shahrokh Misaqi had gone to the Philippines to study medicine, and he had joined the groups opposing the Islamic Republic. He is remembered as a kind, cheerful, and sociable person.

Information about the killing of Mr. Shahrokh Misaqi was collected from Washington Post Newspaper (March 29, 1984), Brigham Young University Research Archives (March 12, 2013), Abdorrahman Boroumand Center interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, student activist in the Philippines (April 18, 2024), Interview with a political and student activist in India (February 22 and 25, 2022), another student activist (January 13, 2022), and Ali Akbar Omid Mehr (June 3, 2022). Additional information was obtained from materials published by Saint Joseph News Agency (July 27, 1981), the national newspaper Manila Standard Today (August 14, 1987), Jahan Publication, the publication of students residing outside of Iran and supporting Fadaiyan Khalq Organization of Iran (December 18, 1982,  January 1983, December 1984, and December 1985), Jomhuri Eslami Newspaper (January 26 and 28, 1982), Etemad Newspaper (May 22, 2014), Tasnim (July 1, 2014), Eshterak Weblog (December 7, 2010), Student Struggles in the Philippines Facebook page (February 29, 2020), Darde Moshtarak Weblog (June 11, 2019), Assistance Inside the Country Facebook page (Document date: December 28, 1983 and December 11, 1984; Date Published: March 11, 2021), Reesman Website (March 23, 2020), Mohammad Mosadeq Website, document published by United States of America State Department (Document date: November 13, 1979), Washington Post Newspaper (March 29, 1984), Imam Khomeini Comprehensive Website (December 27, 1979), Imam Khomeini Portal (September 1, 1979; August 28, 1980; January 4, 1981; August 24, 1981; November 3, 1981; March 20, 1982; August 23, 1983; February 11, 1984), the book “Report to People”, published by Baran, written by Ali Akbar Omid Mehr (2001-2002), and the book “Between Integration and Secession: the Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar” by Moshe Yegar, 2002.

Mr. Shahrokh Misaqi was born in 1956 in Shahsavar (Tonekabon) into a farming family. He was a medical student at Hortense (?) University in Manila, Philippines.  He was an active member of the supporters of the Fedaiyan Khalq Organization (Minority) – Akhgar Group (Brigham Young University Archives, March 12, 2013; Jahan Publication, January 1983 and December 1984; Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024).

Mr. Misaqi’s friends remember him as a calm person, kind, cheerful, and sociable (Eshterak Weblog, December 7, 2010; Student Struggles in the Philippines Facebook page, March 1, 2011).

Mr. Misaqi was among the students who distributed leaflets and who organized serial demonstrations in opposition to the Islamic Republic in front of the Iranian Embassy in the Philippines. They had been able to attract some Filipino friends to their cause and have them join in these demonstrations (Manila Standard Today, August 14, 1987; Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024). He was among the students whose student rate financial aid had been cut off because of their political activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran (Assistance Inside the Country Facebook page, March 11, 2021; Reesman Site, March 23, 2020).

The Fadaiyan Khalq Organization,

The Fadaiyan Khalq Organization, a Marxist Leninist group inspired by the Cuban Revolution and the urban guerilla movements of Latin America, was founded in 1971 by two communist groups opposed to the Pahlavi regime. Following the 1979 revolution, the Organization, which had renounced armed struggle, split over their support of the Islamic Republic and of the Soviet Union. The Fadaiyan Khalq Minority opposed the Islamic Republic and was active mainly in the political arena and the labor movement. 

Background of Student Movement in the Philippines 

The Iranian Student Movement in the Philippines was established before January 1979, as was the case in many other countries. Iranians had started to enroll in Philippine colleges and universities since the early 1980s. Students were attracted to these institutions of higher learning for their low-cost tuition and  use of English language. Before the revolution, between 2500 – 3500 students were studying in the Philippines. Many of them had government sponsored scholarships (“Muslim communities of the Southern Philippines”, Moshe Yegar, 2002). Prior to the revolution, students actively opposed the government of the Shah in different political groups such as Members and Supporters of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization of Iran, People’s Loyalty Organization of Iran, Tudeh Party, Union of Iranian Communists, Islamist Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini, etc. 

After the revolution in January 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini seized power as leader of the revolution, differences between all of these political groups and the supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini grew larger within the country, and eventually the resulting tensions spread to their student supporters outside the country (Boroumand Center Research). 

Student groups in opposition to the Islamic Republic, including supporters of Shapour Bakhtiar and some leftist groups such as People’s Loyalty Organization of Iran (Minority) and Mojahedin Khalq Organization, helped to broadcast news of executions, punitive sentences according to shari’a such as lashings, and instances of human rights violations by the Islamic Republic. They mainly published and disseminated leaflets and newspapers, and organized protest marches (Interview with a political student activist, January 13, 2022; National Assistance Facebook Page, March 11, 2021; the national publication Manila Standard Today, August 14, 1987). In one instance, students against Ayatollah Khomeini gathered in front of the Islamic Republic Embassy and tried to overtake it. This resulted in many of them being arrested by Philippine police (Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024). 

On the other hand, student supporters of the Islamic Republic in the Philippines, Islamic Student Associations, participated in activities to “propagate the Islamic revolution” in opposition to the Philippine government at the time and also “organiz[ed] demonstrations against America” in front of the Embassy of the United States of America. According to available information, activities of the Islamic Student Associations received special support from Islamic Republic government officials. For example, Khosrow Minoochehr, who was opposed to Khomeini and served as the Iranian Embassy attaché in Manila during the previous government, talked to Philippine media about the activities of these students: “Propaganda materials that this group (Islamic Association) produced were printed at the Iranian embassy.” (Washington Post, March 29, 1984). It has also been reported that up until the end of 1979, large shipments of religious literature, pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines were sent directly from Iran to the Philippines and were distributed freely through the Iranian Embassy and by the Iranian students. This literature was circulated to institutions, organizations, and Islamic students. On November 15, 1979, more than 200 students organized a demonstration in front of the Embassy of the United States of America (“Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines,” book by Moshe Yegar, 2002). Also, the American Embassy in Manila sent a letter to the US State Department stating that the anti-American demonstrations held by student supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini had been fully supported by the Iranian Embassy in Manila (Letter from American Embassy in Manila to the State Department, available on Mohammad Mosadeq website, Document date: November 13, 1979; National Publication Manila Standard Today, August 14, 1987). 

There are also many reports showing how the Iranian government treated pro- and anti-government students very differently as to how much financial aid they were given. Student currency and government financial aid were clearly based on having the same ideology as the Islamic Republic. In addition to this fact being mentioned in the report from the American Ambassador in Manila, a Philippine newspaper also reported that students who supported the National Resistance Movement * had lost their government sponsored financial aid and could not receive aid from their families back home (Letter from American Embassy in Manila to the State Department, available on Mohammad Mosadeq website, Document date: November 13, 1979; National Publication Manila Standard Today, August 14, 1987). Ali Akbar Omid Mehr, a former diplomat and the official in charge of student affairs at the time, as well as the head of the Iranian Consulate in India for a time, has published a book titled “Report to the People.” In this book he confirms that students who opposed the Islamic Republic had their student currency cut off from 1979 on, and he added that members of Islamic Associations “had a quota in the secret budget of the Consulate” (ABC Interview, June 3, 2022; “Report to the People” book, 2001-2002). In addition to this, according to a memo published by the Head Consulate of the Islamic Republic in Haydarabad, India, on October 8, 1982, the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education had directed that students “can take advantage of student currency only if they take the written Ideology Exam and pass it.” (Jahan Publication, December 18, 1982). During 1979-1982, Sa’id Zibakalam, who had been in charge of the Islamic Association in England, was appointed ambassador to the Philippines (Etemad Newspaper, May 22, 2014; Tasnim, July 1, 2014). Another piece of evidence for preferential treatment and close collaboration between Islamic Associations and embassies is a letter written by Mahmoud Sadeqi, former member of Islamic parliament, on December 28, 1983, to Ayatollah Montazeri. In this letter, he wrote, “Interference of some students in the affairs of the embassy in Manila, their extreme behavior, and the inaction of officials of the Islamic Republic Embassy, has caused hundreds of students to be sent to other countries such as Australia, Canada, Sweden, etc. with assistance from the United Nations, rather than return to Iran upon graduation.” (National Assistance Facebook Page, Document Date: December 28, 1983). One of the student political activists who was in the Philippines at the time described the condition of the students: “There was no opportunity to work and all expenses had to be paid with Student Currency received from family members in Iran  Most students would participate in their [Islamic Association] ceremonies or elections, in order to be able to maintain their financial situation and to avoid financial difficulties and shortcomings.” (Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024) 

On January 14, 1982, Mr. Misaqi was killed with a knife on a street in the capital of the Philippines.  Two weeks later, supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini in that country attacked his funeral cortege with grenades.

In addition to state sponsored discrimination aimed at strengthening Islamic Associations, government officials were sent to different countries as representatives of Ayatollah Khomeini, in order to meet students in Islamic Associations and to encourage them to teach about the revolution and to curtail the activities of other opposing political groups. In his meeting with Islamic Association students studying abroad, Ayatollah Khomeini asked them to, “Try to teach people about Islam. These Islamic Associations should try to show the people of the world what gems me possess… nobody else has these.” (Imam Khomeini Portal, September 1, 1979).  In another meeting, he told students studying in India, “Powerful countries…try to portray the Islamic Movement in Iran as the opposite of what it is. In all Islamic countries we should try…to focus on truth and establish the truth….establishment of truth is not a slogan. Establishment of truth is deeds…it is observing all the commandments of God…if a few misguided people in India and Pakistan and other Muslim countries want do something to portray this Islamic movement as a bad thing in their country, you Muslimbrothers who live in those countries should stand up to them.” (Imam Khomeini Portal, August 28, 1980).  In December 1979, Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani, who was an extremist cleric, was sent to India and Pakistan as a representative of Ayatollah Khomeini (Emam.com, December 27, 1979). According to one of the students who was studying in India at the time, in a gathering of the students, Ayatollah Noori Hamedani pointed to the men in Islamic Associations, and addressed the female students in the group in a provocative way, “These are all cowards, otherwise nobody in this town would dare distribute leaflets against the Islamic Republic.” This student added, “After this meeting, members of the Islamic Association became much more violent towards their opponents, to the point where for many years we did not walk alone and we were always ready to defend ourselves. Distributing the smallest leaflet would result in us being set upon.” (Interview with a student political activist in India, February 22 and 25, 2022). Behrang Ejtehadi was a medical student and a political activist in the Philippines. He remembers being threatened and pursued by supporters of the Islamic Republic. He also knows about the student activists in the Philippines’ secret living conditions in order to avoid the vicious attacks of the supporters of the Islamic Association. (Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024) 

Government support, in addition to provocative speeches given by officials to Islamic associations, became a green light for violence against the other groups who were opposed to the government. Many instances of assault, kidnapping, and killing of opposition group students were reported in different countries. Specifically in the Philippines, between 1982-1984, at least two students were killed by assault with a knife, and a number were injured. In one case, a number of students lost limbs as a result of a grenade being thrown. One of the students who witnessed this event – having previously said, “the grenade that was thrown was professional, but our students did not have such expertise,” – has said that in some of the clashes, some people who were not students would come from Iran to help the Islamic association students (Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024). Additionally, a dentistry school graduate named Alireza Qa’emi was kidnapped and assaulted while leaving the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees in Manila. Philippine police arrested three people for this kidnapping. They said one of those arrested, who was the suspected leader of the group, had close ties with the Iranian Embassy (Washington Post Newspaper, March 29, 1984).  By 1982, these instances of violence had escalated to the point that nine students who opposed the Islamic Republic had disappeared and it became apparent that there were death squads targeting these opposing students (The Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines book, Moshe Yegar, 2002).

Mr. Shahrokh Misaqi’s Death 

On January 14, 1982, Mr. Misaqi was returning home after conducting some official business at the Central Police Station in Manila, Philippines.  He was stabbed in the stomach several times on the street. That same evening, he passed away at the hospital due to severe damage to his internal organs (Student Struggles in the Philippines Facebook page, March 1, 2011; Jahan Publication, January 1983, January 1985, December 1985). 

About two weeks after his killing, while Mr. Misaqi’s friends and a group of students were taking his body to the airport for transportation to Iran, a grenade detonated among them, injuring 19 people and causing two people to lose body parts. According to the Washington Post report and some of the supporters of the Fadiyan Khalq Minority Organization, this grenade was thrown by supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini and members of Islamic Student Associations (Jomhuri Eslami Newspaper January 28, 1982; Eshterak Weblog, December 7, 2010; Assistance Inside the Country Facebook page, March 11, 2021; Washington Post, March 29, 1984; Interview with Behrang Ejtehadi, April 18, 2024).

There is no information about the details of the killing of Mr. Misaqi or the Philippine police investigation. He was not the only victim of violence in the country. One year later, in 1984, another student was stabbed to death, and yet another student was assaulted upon leaving the Refugee Office of the United Nations. The Washington Post reported that after this assassination attempt, several Iranians were arrested and subsequently deported from the Philippines, at least one of whom had close relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran embassy.

Officials’ Reaction

There is no information on the officials’ direct statements about the killing of Mr. Misaqi.

On January 28, 1982, Jomhuri Eslami Newspaper, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic Party (**), reported about the grenade detonation at the Manila Airport, 19 injuries, and arrest of several Iranians, and attributed this action to the group opposed to the Islamic Republic: “In an altercation between dissenters and royalists in front of Manila International Airport, a grenade carried by one of the people opposed to the revolution detonated due to his lack of skills, and a number of people were injured.” (Jomhuri Eslami Newspaper, January 28, 1982)

Reaction of the Philippines Government

There is no information on the reaction of the Philippine Government officials to the killing of Mr. Shahrokh Misaqi.

The Philippine police arrested at least 33 people in connection to the grenade explosion near Manila Airport.  They announced that some of the arrested persons had weapons such as knives on them and that these had been confiscated (Saint Joseph News Agency, July 27, 1981). 

A Philippine diplomat commented on the government of the Philippines’ reaction to the violence perpetrated by Iranian students in that country.  He said that because of the large number of Filipino workers living in Iran, and also because of the fear of Iran’s increasing aid to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) (a separatist Moslem group fighting in the southern Philippines), the Philippine government does not seek overt conflict with Iran, but at the same time, they have limited the registration of new Iranian students (Washington Post Newspaper, March 29, 1984).

Family’s Reaction

There is no information on legal action initiated by Mr. Misaqi’s family.

Impacts on Family

There is no information on the impact of Mr. Misaqi’s killing on his family.

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* The National Resistance Movement of Iran is an organization opposed to the Islamic Republic. It was established on August 5, 1980, by Shapur Bakhtiar, the last prime minister before the revolution, and a group of anti-regime figures.

** The Islamic Republican Party was the first party formed in 1979 after the revolution. Its members were the most influential revolutionaries who believed in the ideology of Ruhollah Khomeini. One of the party's goals was to fight against un-Islamic elements and political opponents. The party's media outlet was the newspaper "Jomhuri Eslami."