Statement of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran on the Occasion of the 36th Anniversary of the National Tragedy of the Massacre of Iran’s Political Prisoners!

Without ending the rule of the Islamic Republic, executions, torture, and persecution of political prisoners, oppression, corruption, poverty, and deprivation of millions of Iranians will not cease!

Dear compatriots!

As we approach August and September 2024, 36 years have passed since the massacre of thousands of political prisoners, a massacre ordered by Khomeini and executed by criminals such as Raisi, Nayyeri, Eshraqi, Pourmohammadi, and others. Khomeini and other leaders of the Islamic Republic, who were worried about the demise of their political life, organized the mass killings of the 1988 national tragedy, leading to the execution of many of the most persistent and dedicated social, cultural, political, and popular figures in Iran to prolong their political future and the rule of the clerical regime of ignorance and crime.

Despite the passage of 36 years, the exact number of victims of this crime against humanity remains unknown. According to published reports, the estimated number of freedom fighters who were martyred varies between 3,000 to 4,484. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran announced the number of executed political prisoners as at least 1,879. In his memoirs, Mr. Montazeri mentions that about 2,800 or 3,800 people were executed according to reports he received. Montazeri’s memoirs regarding his meeting with the delegation sent to the prisons and the shocking report of these quasi-humans on how the massacre was organized remain one of the most credible historical documents on the conduct of the Islamic Republic and its leaders in this massacre. Undoubtedly, one day it will be used in the people’s courts in our homeland to prosecute its perpetrators and executors.

Dear compatriots,

The 36th anniversary of the national tragedy arrives at a time when the brutal and bloody suppression of dissenters and freedom fighters continues to be the regime’s usual response to any protest against the political system, which is based on the absolute dictatorship of one individual over all legal and elected institutions of the country. The presidential election show of 2024 ended with the introduction of Masoud Pezeshkian as president, his endorsement, and the appointment of his cabinet ministers by the leader of this regime. This process, like most repeated examples, clearly indicates that in the Islamic Republic government, the “principle of the republic”—one of the significant achievements of the 1979 popular revolution aimed at establishing the people’s will over their destiny—has long been sacrificed on the altar of the corrupt leaders’ “political Islam” and has given way to a kind of medieval “caliphate” under the banner of “absolute guardianship of the jurist.” An analysis of recent political developments shows that various governments, security agencies, and legislative bodies have, in practice, become coordinated parts of a repressive apparatus whose main goal is to preserve the ruling political system at any cost.

The 36th anniversary of the national tragedy also coincides with the second anniversary of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, a movement that, following the government’s crime of killing Mahsa Amini by the regime’s thugs, sparked one of the largest popular movements in recent years. This movement presented a serious challenge to the regime’s continuation. Although the brutal and bloody suppression of this movement saved the regime from this challenge, the embers of the people’s movement’s struggle still glow in the valiant fight of women, workers, and the toiling masses, in the struggles of nurses, retirees, oil company project workers, and the protests of workers in other production units across the country. On the 36th anniversary of the national tragedy, many prisoners, under psychological and physical pressures, continue to resist with high morale, exposing the regime’s crimes and demanding an end to repression and executions. The Tudeh Party of Iran, by supporting the political prisoners’ campaign with the slogan “No to Executions” and turning it into a slogan of the popular movement, demands an end to this cycle of death and violence.

Dear compatriots,

The summer of 1988 witnessed shocking months when the regime attacked the country’s prisons and committed crimes against humanity, as well as months of historic and heroic resistance by political prisoners against the death squads sent to the prisons. Thousands of proud individuals from various groups, organizations, parties, and social and political figures stood shoulder to shoulder, bravely facing the reactionary mercenaries, choosing death over humiliation and surrender, thus creating a shining history of the people’s struggle against the regime of ignorance and crime, a history that will remain a symbol of humanity and hope for the future of our country for generations to come. During this national tragedy, a large number of leaders and cadres of Iran’s progressive organizations and parties were executed by the regime’s executioners. The Tudeh Party of Iran lost a large group of experienced leaders and historical figures in the national liberation movement from despotism, along with prominent cadres and activists of the labor movement, brave military officers, writers, translators, intellectuals, and thinkers.

In its statement on December 9, 1988, the Central Committee of our Party wrote: “The recent atrocities of Khomeini’s despotic regime, especially devoid of any legal, civil, moral, or human support, are reminiscent of the insane actions of Hitler’s fascists in the death camps. People were handed over to the execution squads of the regime and its repressive organs who were guilty of nothing but love for the people, enmity with imperialism and reaction, and struggle for freedom, independence, social justice, and peace.”

Despite 36 years having passed since the national tragedy of the “bloody purge” of the country’s prisons and despite all the regime’s efforts to erase the shameful traces of its crime, due to the persistent struggle of the victims’ families, especially the brave mothers of Khavaran, these efforts have been met with failure. In the “Khavaran Garden” and other sites of mass graves of the national tragedy’s martyrs in various cities, despite all the regime’s efforts, despite the destruction of these areas, the fencing around them, and even attempts to prevent any presence or gathering, the families of the victims of the 1988 national tragedy continue to gather, and with the sympathy of the people of our country, they honor the shining memory of the heroic children of this land.

Dear compatriots!

In the national tragedy of the massacre of political prisoners in 1988, there were no organizational or ideological boundaries. The regime massacred all those fighters whose activities it saw as dangerous to its future. The Tudeh Party of Iran, alongside other freedom-loving, national, and democratic forces in the country, considers it its human and revolutionary duty to continue its efforts to expose this dark conspiracy in our contemporary history until the culprits of this crime against humanity are brought to justice. All efforts must be made to break the regime’s conspiracy of silence regarding the national tragedy. In the ongoing struggle in our country for peace, freedom, democracy, and social justice, the fight to address the demands of the families of the victims of this tragedy plays an important and decisive role. It is the human, popular, and historical duty of all progressive and freedom-loving forces to intensify their efforts towards this goal. The brave political prisoners who were executed stood together before the death squads of the bloodthirsty Islamic Republic, singing songs of a future liberated homeland from the grip of the despotic regime. Their names and memories are indelibly etched into the bloody history of our country’s struggles.

May the joint efforts of all national and freedom-loving forces and the families of the victims of the national tragedy in establishing a “truth commission” expand!

Infinite salute to the mothers, fathers, spouses, children, and relatives of the martyrs of the national tragedy who continue to steadfastly and tirelessly defend the righteousness of the people’s heroic struggle against the regime of Velayat-e Faqih!

Shame and hatred upon the leaders of the Islamic Republic and all those who ordered and executed the horrific crime of the national tragedy!

Eternal salute to the bright memory of all the blood-soaked heroes of the people who sacrificed their lives for the liberation and freedom of our homeland during the 1988 national tragedy!

Endless salute to all political prisoners who continue to resist under the regime’s pressure!

Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran

August 24, 2024