The 1988 Massacre: A crime against humanity and a lasting wound on Iran’s collective memory
Hengaw– Sunday, August 31, 2025
The summer of 1988 marks one of the darkest chapters in Iran’s modern history. In the aftermath of UN Security Council Resolution 598 and the formal end of the Iran-Iraq War, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a wave of systematic repression against political prisoners—many of whom were already serving their sentences or had even completed them.
Every September recalls the second wave of the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988, known as the “Leftist Massacre.” Historians, including Ervand Abrahamian, trace the beginning of this campaign to late July 1988, when prison authorities removed televisions and newspapers, cut off family visits, and imposed strict new restrictions in preparation for a systematic purge. Historical evidence, including Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri’s documented protest in August 1988, shows that the mass killings were carried out primarily during July, August, and September of that year.
The executions took place in two main waves: the first targeting members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), and the second targeting leftist and secular prisoners. Acting under a direct order from then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, the killings were implemented by a four-member committee consisting of Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein-Ali Nayeri, Alireza Avaei, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi—a body survivors later named the “Death Committee.” Prisoners were brought before these ad hoc courts, where minutes-long interrogations focused on political or religious beliefs. For leftist prisoners, questions revolved around faith, religious practice, and belief in the afterlife. For MEK members, interrogations sought to gauge loyalty to the organization, willingness to renounce armed struggle, readiness to fight against Iraq, and even willingness to walk over landmines as proof of repentance. A refusal to comply—or hesitation to sign a “repentance statement”—was tantamount to a death sentence.
Estimates of the number of victims vary, underscoring the concealed scale of the massacre. Human rights organizations place the number between 3,000 and 4,484, while the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran has cited at least 1,879 executions. The discrepancies highlight both the difficulty of documentation under repression and the vast hidden dimensions of the atrocity.
One of the most harrowing aspects was the secret nighttime burials in mass graves. Families were denied the bodies of their loved ones and were often informed months or years later of the approximate burial sites. The Khavaran Cemetery in southern Tehran became the most well-known site, though evidence points to similar mass graves across other cities. Authorities later sought to erase these traces through the destruction of graves and by heavily restricting family access, as part of a broader effort to suppress collective memory of the crime.
The massacre constitutes not only mass execution but also enforced disappearance. Prisoners officially under state custody were suddenly “disappeared,” while families were left in limbo, deprived of truth, mourning, and justice. This policy extended the harm from the victims to their relatives and communities.
The 1988 massacre was not limited to the physical elimination of political opponents—it also entailed a systematic campaign to erase collective memory. Bans on memorial ceremonies, arrests of grieving families, destruction of graveyards, and suppression of public remembrance were all part of this effort. Yet, the persistence of families and human rights groups has prevented the complete erasure of this crime from Iran’s historical record.
In the years since, international human rights organizations have repeatedly documented the massacre and described it as a crime against humanity. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has consistently called for truth, accountability, and justice. Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to deny responsibility and seeks to impose its official narrative in place of the truth.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights regards the 1988 massacre as one of the most egregious crimes against humanity in Iran’s contemporary history—one that is not subject to any statute of limitations. Justice is only possible through fair trials of all perpetrators and those who ordered the killings, wherever and whenever they may be found. Hengaw honors the memory of the victims and expresses solidarity with the survivors, emphasizing that within the framework of transitional justice and the guarantee of non-repetition, documenting, remembering, and keeping alive the historical memory of the victims is a collective responsibility. Without this, genuine justice in Iran will remain unattainable.
