Legacy of a dictator: Iran's 30,000 murdered, then and now

By Hassan Mahmoudi

In the wake of the 30th anniversary of the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in summer of 1988 in Iran, the people of Iran and especially families of the victims are still waiting for justice and an international tribune.

In the summer of 1988, the political prisoners were systematically executed in almost two months.  In a barbaric two-month purge, prisoners, including teenagers as young as 14, were loaded onto trucks in groups and hanged from cranes.

During the past three decades, the regime blocked all attempts to investigate the extent of the massacre.  They even went farther to cover up the crimes by toppling and damaging cemeteries and headstones of martyrdom graves with bulldozers.

In Iran, there is no criminal justice

system or government institutions deterring crime or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties.  The supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, controls everything.  He sets the tone and direction of Iran's domestic and foreign policies.  Many of those in the "Death Commission" responsible for the 1988 massacre are still in power, including Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, who is now Iran's justice minister in President Hassan Rouhani's Cabinet, and cleric Ebrahim Raisi, favored candidate of the supreme leader for the 2017 presidential election.  Both, defended the massacre of 1988.
source:Legacy of a dictator: Iran's 30,000 murdered, then and now