August 27, 2010

Radio Zamaneh reports that Islamic Republic security forces prevented families of political prisoners at Khavaran cemetery from observing the 22nd anniversary of the [1980's] mass executions of political prisoners. The families faced resistance from security forces and a number of people were arrested.

Human Rights and Democracy Activists of Iran reports that security forces had set up road blocks and stopped the families from visiting the resting places of their kin.

According to this report a number of people were also beaten by security forces and, despite the restrictions, some of the families managed to reach the graves of their loved ones.

In the summer of 1988, the Islamic Republic executed scores of political prisoners serving sentences for the charge of membership in dissident groups. They were buried in mass graves at Khavaran cemetery.

While Amnesty International puts the number of executions [in the 1980's] at over 2,500, the late dissident cleric Ayatollah Montazeri mentions [in his journal] that the number is closer to 2,800 or perhaps 3,800, indicating that the exact number is not known.

However, many opponents of the Islamic Republic claim that the number far exceeds the quotes.

After three years of silence, in 1991, the families along with other social activists began gathering at Khavaran cemetery to remember their kin, an event which they have observed every summer since then

Original link: http://persian2english.com/?p=13764