Mykonos assassinations – 33 years on, Iran maintains strategy of targeting opponents abroad

For more than four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has pursued political repression beyond its borders, carrying out a systematic policy of targeted assassinations, abductions, enforced disappearances, and threats against exiled activists.

On September 17, 1992, three senior members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan — Dr. Sadegh Sharafkandi (Secretary-General), Fattah Abdoli (Central Committee member and the party’s representative in Europe), and Homayoun Ardalan (the party’s representative in Germany) — together with Nouri Dehkordi, a political activist and translator, were assassinated at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin by operatives linked to the Iranian state. This attack formed part of a broader strategy that had already included the “chain murders” and the killings of dissidents in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Turkey, and across Europe.

After five years of legal proceedings, the Mykonos case ended with a landmark judgment on April 10, 1997. The Berlin court ruled that the assassinations had been approved and ordered by the Committee for Special Affairs at the highest levels of the Iranian government. The committee included senior officials, and Ali Fallahian, then Minister of Intelligence, was explicitly named as a principal instigator. The court also cited the indirect involvement of other high-ranking figures, including Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader), Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (then President), and Ali Akbar Velayati (then Foreign Minister), although a lack of direct evidence meant they were not formally convicted as masterminds.

The judgment underlined that the killings were not isolated incidents but part of a systematic policy by the Iranian authorities to eliminate political opponents. Similar patterns were evident in the murders of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou in 1989 and Shapour Bakhtiar in 1991. For the first time, a European court held a sitting state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, responsible for organizing state terrorism.

This decision marked a turning point in international law. It highlighted the principle of state accountability for crimes committed beyond national borders and acknowledged, within Europe’s legal framework, the concept of state-organized terrorism directed at political opponents. The ruling also caused a diplomatic crisis, prompting the European Union to suspend relations with Iran temporarily.

The Mykonos assassinations were not the conclusion of this strategy but part of a wider policy that remains in force today. Documented evidence shows that, during the past three decades, Iranian authorities have:

Carried out or attempted assassinations of dozens of Kurdish, Baloch, Arab, and other dissidents in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey.

Planned kidnappings and assassination attempts against journalists and human rights defenders in Europe and the United States.

Conducted smear campaigns, issued direct threats, and waged psychological pressure against human rights activists, openly targeting independent organizations and individuals.

These actions indicate that the policy of transnational repression is not an improvised measure but an entrenched strategy used by Iran’s security and political apparatus to silence critics.

The Mykonos case demonstrated that senior Iranian officials can be held legally accountable through international judicial mechanisms. However, the absence of sustained follow-up and the limited coordination of the international community after the verdict have allowed state-sponsored assassinations to continue.

International law provides several tools for accountability. States can apply the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for serious human rights violations, including state-sponsored killings, although its use depends on domestic legislation. Mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council, such as special rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, should be used actively to document violations and advocate for justice. The international community can also impose targeted sanctions, such as EU human rights measures or sanctions under the Magnitsky framework, despite challenges like sanctions evasion or political disagreements.

Thirty-three years after the Mykonos assassinations, the Islamic Republic continues to pursue a policy of transnational repression. Hengaw, while honoring the memory of the victims of this historic crime, warns that ignoring the policy of physically eliminating opponents heightens the risk of tragedies like Mykonos being repeated. The global community has a responsibility to take a firm stance against state terrorism and to offer unequivocal support to political activists and human rights defenders who remain at risk in Europe, the United States, and the wider region.