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

Hossein Afghani

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: December, 1988
Location of Killing: Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Unspecified execution method
Charges: Unknown charge

About this Case

Mr. Hossein Afghani is one of the victims of the 1988-89 mass execution of political prisoners whose name is published in a November 2, 1989 United Nations’ Report of the Economic and Social Council on the “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” prepared by Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl (El Salvador), Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights. Executed prisoners were mostly members or sympathizers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, or other Marxist Leninist organizations such as, the People’s Fedayin of Iran, the Tudeh Party, and the Peykar Organization.

Arrest and detention

There is no specific information on the defendant’s arrest and detention.

Trial

The circumstances that led to this defendant's execution are unknown. However, 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 the 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 leveled against Mr. Afghani. 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 authorities' accusations against the prisoners – accusations 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 of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, reproduced in the memoirs of Ayatollah Montazeri, his designated successor, corroborates the reported claims regarding the charges against the executed prisoners. In this edict, Ayatollah Khomeini refers to the PMOI's members as "hypocrites" who do not believe in Islam and "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.

The defendant, who did not belong to the organization named by the leader of the Islamic Republic, may have been accused of being "anti-religion" for not having renounced his or her beliefs.

Evidence of guilt

The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against Mr. Afghani.

Defense

In their open letter, the families of the prisoners note that defendants were not given the opportunity to defend themselves in court.

Judgment

No sentence was issued publicly.

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