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

Mas'ud Salehirad

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Non-Believer
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: August 4, 1980
Location of Killing: Tabriz, Azarbaijan-e Sharqi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Extrajudicial Execution
Charges: Unknown charge

About this Case

Mr. Mas’ud Salehirad is one of the 430 individuals whose names appear on the list, “Martyrs of the Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class” published on the website Andeesheh va Peykar. This list contains the names of those members of the organization who died after the 1979 Revolution. More than 400 of the individuals on this list have been executed. The information about him has been taken from the Peykar magazine, No. 96 (August 25, 1980).

According to the available information, Mr. Salehirad, from Rasht, was a fourth year medical student at Tabriz University and a member of the University and High School Students’ Section of the Peykar Organization.

The Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class was founded by a number of dissident members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization who converted to Marxism-Leninism. The Peykar Organization was also joined by a number of political organizations, known as Khat-e Se (Third line). The founding tenets of Peykar included the rejection of guerrilla struggle and a strong stand against the pro-Soviet policies of the Iranian Tudeh Party. Peykar viewed the Soviet Union as a “social imperialist” state, believed that China had deviated from the Marxist-Leninist principles, and radically opposed all factions of the Islamic regime of Iran. The brutal repression of dissidents by the Iranian government and splits within Peykar in 1981 and 1982 effectively dismantled the organization and scattered its supporters. By the mid-1980s, Peykar was no longer in existence.

Arrest and detention

At 5 a.m. on August 4, 1980, Mr. Salehirad and a friend, Mr. Tayeb Najmoddini, were distributing leaflets of the Peykar Organization when they were arrested either by agents of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, or by one of its subsidiary committees.

Trial

According to information available, Mr. Salehirad was not summoned to a court or tried before his arrest.

Charges

The charge brought against the defendant is not known.

Evidence of guilt

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Salehirad was distributing Peykar leaflets.

Defense

No information is available about Mr. Salehirad’s defense.

Judgment

Two hours after Mr. Salehirad’s arrest, a shepherd found the bodies of two young men. Next to the bodies, he could see the tire marks of a van or a Jeep – the same type of vehicle that the Revolutionary Guards used. Three days later, the bodies were buried at the Vadi Rahmat cemetery in Tabriz as “unidentified individuals.” On August 15, affiliates of the Peykar Organization discovered what had happened.

On August 18, 1980, a memorial service was held at the cemetery. Family members of the two young men were at the memorial service, including Mr. Salehirad’s brother. Mr. Salehirad’s friends in Rasht organized a demonstration and memorial service for him. According to information available, Revolutionary Guards and Hezbillahi (Party of God) agents attempted to interrupt the ceremony but failed. The date of this event is not known.

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