Rahnavard condemns mass executions of 88

Zahra Rahnavard

Iranian opposition leader, Zahra Rahnavard, described the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 as a black stain for the country and condemned the government’s revenge on the dissident group, People’s Mojahedin Organization, as a “big error.”

Rahanvard said in interviews with a number of websites: “The crimes and the terrorist operations of the said group (People’s Mohajedin of Iran Organization) are evident to all. However, the revengeful response of their adversary was a big error and is not acceptable.”

According to Rahanvard, Ayatollah Khamenei and MirHosein Mousavi, the president and prime minister of the time “were not informed about these crimes.”

In 1988, Iranian authorities executed thousands of political prisoners which the opposition claims was done by direct orders from Ayatollah Khomeini, the late leader of the 1979 Revolution in Iran.

The executions were organized as a response to the attacks of the People’s Mojahedin attacks on the Islamic Republic from inside Iraq.

Numerous victims of these executions were buried in the Khavaran Cemetery.

Rahanvard also maintained that “criticism increases the chances of reform”, so everyone must be open to criticism.

She stressed that MirHosein Mousavi and herself are proponents of the freedom of the press and thought which, according to the opposition leader, was their main platform in the 2009 presidential elections.