Mr. Amir Nabavi, son of Ali (Working Class Freedom Fighters Organization), was a victim of the mass killings of political prisoners in 1988. Most of the executed prisoners were members and supporters of the Mojahedin e Khalq Organization of Iran. Other victims were from Marxist Leninist groups in opposition to the Islamic Republic, such as Fedayian Khalq Organization (Minority) and Paykar Organization, and members of parties such as Tudeh and Fedayian Khalq Organization (Majority), who were not actively opposing the Islamic Republic.

Boroumand Center has collected additional information about these mass executions from “The Memoirs of Ayatollah Montazeri”, Reports of Human Rights Organization, interviews with families, and eyewitness accounts.

Information about Mr. Nabavi has been collected from an electronic form sent by one of his friends to Boroumand Center (September 16, 2021), from an interview with one of his cellmates (July 13, 2022), and also from an email from one of his friends (July 30, 2022).

According to available information, Mr. Nabavi was 27. He was the oldest child in his family, born in Ahvaz, and single. His father got a job at Qazvin Glass Factory, and the family moved from Ahvaz to Qazvin when Mr. Nabavi was 7 years old. After a while, his father opened his own glass cutting shop and Mr. Nabavi used to work there every day after school. He finished his high school education at Rahnama High School in Qazvin. He was interested in martial arts. His brother was a cleric.

Mr. Nabavi started his political activities in high school, in 1979, in the “Pooya Students’ Association”. He continued his activities by joining the “Revolutionary Unity”* Organization. After internal conflict in this organization, he was one of the people who helped form the “Working Class Freedom Fighters'' Organization** and became a member of this group. According to one of his friends, “The political atmosphere of 1978-1979 favored guerilla activity. However, he did not follow this path, and he preferred to participate in activities that sought the freedom of the working classes through their education and their eventual rise to power.” His political activities after the revolution included “organizing photography exhibitions, setting up tables for selling books, distributing revolutionary pamphlets, writing slogans, and participating in protest demonstrations carried out by workers, university students, and high school students supporting the working classes. He was active in mountaineering activities” (His comrade).  Among his friends, he was known as a hardworking, active, and influential revolutionary. He had a warm voice and beautiful handwriting.

As a result of his overt political activities, he was repeatedly threatened and harassed by officials of the Islamic Republic Regime. They pressured his family to force him to stop his political activities. (His comrade). He was arrested in 1980, at a literature exhibition, and he spent two months in jail.

Arrest and detention

Mr. Nabavi and one of his comrades were arrested by revolutionary guards and agents from the neighborhood committee, on August 11, 1981, at his home in Hadi Abad neighborhood in Qazvin (a working-class neighborhood). This house had already been exposed for some time. They initially took him to the Revolutionary Guard Station on Naderi Street. After interrogation, they transferred him to Chubin Dar Prison in Qazvin. He spent some time in section 2 of Chubin Dar Prison. When the dissolution of this section, they moved him to sections 3 and 4 of the same prison. According to one of his cellmates, “We were always together, in one section and in one cell. We talked together, we exercised together, we ate together, and we organized poetry nights together. Amir would sing his most beautiful emotions with that clear and pleasing voice of his.” He continues, “In addition to being kind and sincere, one of his prominent and admirable attributes was that he loved to talk, to exchange ideas, and to hear opposing views. He enjoyed reading, poetry, and literature, and he did not have the political prejudices and narrow mindedness prevalent in those times. In spite of our differing political views, I considered him my closest friend, as he did me. Amir was a learned intellectual, logical and moderate in demeanor. He was in search of the truth. He was not captivated by personalities, nor was he in awe of this group or that ideology. During his years in prison, he worked on himself and learned a lot.”

In February 1984, they exiled Mr. Nabavi, along with some of his comrades and some Mojahedin, to Gohar Dasht Prison. A year later, they took him back to Chubin Dar in Qazvin. Mr. Nabavi spent seven years in prison.

Mr. Nabavi’s family rarely visited him and did not have much contact with him. The reason for this was that his family, and especially his mother, were influenced by the propaganda of the regime. 

One of Mr. Nabavi’s cellmates in Chubin Dar Prison in Qazvin in 1988 said, “I am one of the witnesses of the mass killings of political prisoners in 1988. It was a horrendous event. Contrary to what government officials say, this operation was gradually planned as early as March 1987. This was manifested in unnecessary and repeated searches of political prisoners’ sections, unexpected interrogations, unexplained cessation of visiting hours and exercise time, not allowing exercise and group games, stricter nightly controls, threatening and humiliating, disproportionate punishment, repeated solitary confinements, transfer to mentally challenged sections (which they called ‘crazy people sections’), and severe assault and battery for unbelievable reasons. Also, deliberate rumor mongering inside and outside the prison, spreading the news that it seems political prisoners at Chubin Dar Prison in Qazvin have dug tunnels to connect their cells, they have collected weapons, and they are planning an operation. These rumors were very exaggerated and baseless, and at the time we could not understand why they were doing it.”

Trial

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin put Mr. Nabavi on trial with one judge and one prosecutor. He did not have access to a lawyer in this trial. According to one of his cellmates, “In 1988, trials were very superficial, just like in 1981. It would be over in ten minutes. It was based on a few disjointed questions, asked in prison. Nobody thought they would have another trial, seven years into a ten-year sentence.” He continues, “According to the surviving fellow prisoners from that time, almost all of the prisoners were firm in their stance, except one who had repented. At one point, prison guards were going to each solitary cell and questioning prisoners for a couple of minutes. They asked about the circumstances of each person’s arrest and about the details of their involvement in various organizations at the time of their arrest. These were simple questions and nobody thought this would constitute a second trial on the spot. Evidently, our comrades and friends had to defend their beliefs and their involvement in political activities at the time of their arrest. They had been in prison for many years, and they were not able to evaluate the new circumstances where the answer to one question could determine their fate.” (His comrade and cellmate)

According to the testimonies of leftist political prisoners who were tried in Iran’s Prisons during the executions of the summer of 1988, the trials took place in a room in the prisons after a few weeks of isolation during which prisoners were deprived of visitation, television and radio broadcasts, and outdoors time. Towards the end of August, a three-member delegation composed of the prosecutor, a religious judge, and a representative of the Ministry of Information asked prisoners questions about whether they were Muslim or Marxist, whether they prayed, and if their parents were practicing Muslims. Based on the prisoners’ responses, the later were sentenced to be hanged or the flogged until they agreed to pray. The authorities never informed prisoners about the delegation’s purpose and the serious implications of their responses. According to survivors, during the summer of 1988 a large number of prisoners sympathizing with the Mojahedin or Leftist groups were executed for not recanting their beliefs.  

The 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 Minister of Justice at the time, Dr. Habibi, they argue that the official secrecy surrounding these executions is 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 when they were retried and sentenced to death.

Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Nabavi in his first trial was “Against the Revolution”, but his charge in the next trial is not known.

Based on the testimonies of the prisoners who were in prisons in the summer of 1988, the questions of the three-member committee from the leftist prisoners were about their beliefs and they were accused of being “anti-religion”, insisting on their beliefs and not repenting. In their letters to the Minister of Justice in 1988, and to the UN Special Rapporteur visiting Iran in 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, Ayatollah Khomeini, 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 members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization 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.  

Defendants, who did not belong to the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, 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. Nabavi.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Nabavi’s defense in the first trial.

Judgment

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin sentenced Mr. Amir Nabavi to ten years imprisonment. He was executed in August 1988, while he was serving his sentence. There is no information on the location of this execution.

 Based on Boroumand Center’s research, leftist prisoners executed in 1988 were found to be “apostates.”  Months after the executions, prison authorities informed the families about the executions and handed over the victims’ belongings to their families. The bodies, however, were not returned to them.  The bodies were buried in mass graves. Authorities warned the families of prisoners not to hold memorial ceremonies for their loves ones.

Mr. Nabavi’s cellmate from August 1985 until 1987, says: ”We were always together, up until the night they took him to the place of sacrifice. We were in one section and in one cell, for more than two years. We talked together, exercised together, ate together, and put on poetry nights together. Amir would sing his most beautiful emotions in his clear and pleasing voice.” (Cellmate, July 13, 2022)

He continues to talk about the night two revolutionary guards came to take away Mr. Nabavi and some other prisoners to be executed: “When the Death Committee came to Chubin Dar in 1988 and asked Amir Nabavi about the reason for his arrest, unlike other prisoners he did not cite affiliation with a particular group. He said it was because of his connections with different political groups. When they asked him if Mojahedin was one of these groups, he answered in the affirmative. At that point the person asking questions ended his interview and said ‘Enough!’. I’m pretty sure this last short answer brought about his execution. He did say that affiliation with political groups was a charge brought against him in court and that it was not true. By then, this did not matter for the Death Committee and they paid no attention to these remarks. They were looking for an excuse to execute, not a reason for clemency. Maybe they were looking for at least one non-Mojahed among the prisoners to be executed, and Amir had unwittingly made their choice for them with the answers he gave. That night two revolutionary guards came to our section with a list of 27 names. They were Maleki and Rashvand. Maleki, who was a slave to the prison warden, Akhund Khaleqi, and was the most vicious and stupid of all the prison guards, started to read the names on the list. He actually called both of us. Amir and I and 25 other prisoners packed up our stuff and got ready to go. Nobody knew what was going on, or where we were headed. At worst, we thought they were taking us to another prison for punishment., and that would not have been so bad. After many years in that prison, we would have looked forward to a change. {Mr. Nabavi’s name was not on the list, and he was returned to the cell.} The next day we first heard six people, and later on, all of the people who had been called out had been taken around the bend in the hallway and black bags were put on their heads. They were taken to the fields in the area, where they were gunned down and buried in mass graves.” (Cellmate, July 13, 2022)

According to another one of Mr. Nabavi’s cellmates: “There were 27 prisoners at Chubin Dar. 22 of these, including comrade Amir were executed in the summer of 1988. Considering the fact that he was in solitary confinement and had no visitors, there is no information on the exact time and place of their execution. About four months later, when the few remaining prisoners were taken out of solitary and allowed to rejoin the general prison population, and when visitations were gradually resumed, they became aware of the awful dimensions of what had befallen their fellow prisoners.”

Mr. Nabavi’s cellmates found out about his execution. His family do not know where he is buried. His friends had a secret memorial gathering for him.

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*Freedom Fighters of the Working Class: This organization formed a coalition with ten other groups in 1980 and The United Revolutionary Organization for the Freedom of the Working Class was formed. This organization was faced with internal strife and in 1981, another organization was formed called “The Organization of the Struggle for the Freedom of the Working Class”.