Mr. Hossein Mokhtar’s Testimony

at the September 1 Conference Organized by MEHR

He is one of the survivors of the massacre of 1988 by the Islamic Regime of Iran.  

Dear ladies and Gentlemen 

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for attending this conference, I also would like to thank my friends for their efforts that made it possible for me to be here. 

Although it is sad for me to talk about the most horrible nightmare of my life, I owe it to all who lost their lives or are now suffering in prisons, to disclose the real face of Mullahs’ regime of Iran.  

 Because of the interest of time, I will restrict my talk to the massacre of 1988.  I will first give you some basic information about myself. 

All together, I have spent more than 6 years of my life in the political prisons and detentions of Iran’s Islamic regime, all of it in Evin prison in Tehran.  During that time, I suffered savage tortures by interrogators of regime’s Intelligent Agency.  Later, I was able to leave Iran and was accepted as a political refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, through their office in Ankara/Turkey.     

Between Jan 26, 2000, the date of my arrival to the United States, and last month, I have had 24 surgeries to treat the injuries and broken parts of my body, which were the results of tortures in Evin prison.  I have become disabled with ongoing medical treatments, and have also lost part of my hearing.   

In 1981 when the Islamic regime of Iran executed my father, Mr. Ali Mokhtar Zibaii, he was only 40 years old, the same age that I am now.   He was an officer of the Air Force in the First Fighters Base in Mehrabad Tehran.  At that time I was almost 18 years old.   

From 1981 the date of my father’s execution until 1986, the regime was searching for me, and in hiding I was unable to be with my family during that time. 

In 1986 I was arrested, and was kept in prison until 1991.  During those years I suffered the most savage tortures such that when they released me in 1991, the left side of my body was paralyzed.  When I came out I was alien to my family because while I was in prison, my family were rarely allowed to visit me.  This was one of the common ways of torturing political prisoners by the Islamic regime. 

I am one of about 900 survivors of the massacres of almost 30,000 helpless political prisoners, whom were executed by the Islamic regime. Most of these victims were killed in a time period less than 10 days in July and August of 1988.  These killings were done by shooting, hanging or even by grenade and TNT explosives.  The executions were done in the hills around Evin. 

It is interesting to know that those who are running the government today are the same people responsible for that massacre.   This is because they all cooperated with each other in executing that horrible crime. 

Khatami, Rafsanjani and Khamenei were among the masterminds of the massacre and should be brought to Justice, as Iranian people are eventually going to do that.   

In addition to my personal experiences, I have been a witness to the Mental and physically tortures of other political prisoners by this Regime. 

I have witnessed Kids who watched their parents getting tortured. I have also witnessed kids who watched their parents’ bodies hanging on the cranes.  This sad story continues even now almost every day in streets of the Tehran and other cities. 

There were many occasions where children lived for years with their mothers in prison cells.  These children were denied the very basic needs for survival.   I knew of mothers in prison making a substitute for milk by dissolving cheese and sugar in hot water, as their stressed and tortured bodies could not produce milk.   Nobody knows what happened to so many of those kids after massacres of the 1988? 

The Islamic regime was working on the massacre of all political prisoners for some years. Khomeini had ordered to get rid of all those political prisoners, no reasons were needed.  It was decided to kill them all.  There were situations when the guards would ask the so-called death committee if they should bring the next wave of prisoners for interrogation.  And the answer was “no need, just kill them”.   

On January.11^th .1988, they put all prisoners in closed-door rooms and allowed no more visits by their families.           

In fact on the first days of January the speakers in prison announced to all prisoners “we are not going to give this opportunity to people to save you from prison and treat you as their heroes”. 

We all knew what is coming up and everybody was ready to die, because there is no other ways for those who disagree with the mullahs of Iran. 

From January until July 1988 no newspapers, no TV, no Radio, no shower, no visiting of the families and many times, even no food. 

In each room (about 24 square meter, equivalent to about 220 square feet), there were more than 45 prisoners.  Finally on July 29 or 30^th they started the massacre.  Many of the victims had not eaten for days and were thirsty before their execution. 

The massacre continued until October 1988, but they killed more than 90% of prisoners during the first 10 days.  So many times we heard the heavy machine guns, which were shooting to the victims in the “Shooting Execution hall” of the prison.  These were in addition to hanging on cranes and other hanging stands. 

Hearing the sound of explosion shocks from the hills around Evin, we knew that in addition to shooting and hanging, they were killing prisoners by mass bombing with grenades and the TNT explosives. 

In August and September 1988 they took me twice to the death committee.   The first time the only question was,” What is your opinion about your father’s execution”? 

I answered:  please put yourself in my place, and imagine it is you instead of me whose father is executed. And let me ask you the same question.  Whatever your answer is will be my answer to your question. 

Before I finished my sentence, Falahian the minister of information and the intelligence agency, said, “Kill him”. 

It was a miracle that I survived that order.  One of my father’s friends who was a powerful man in the regime, had found and used a release letter in my file, signed by Montazeri, the successor of Komini at the time.   

The second time in September they took me again to the same place: section 209 of Evin. That day I heard the voice of martyred Davood Zargar who was shouting “guards what are you waiting for, I am ready to die are you scared”?  

I also heard the martyred Reza Bahman Abadi who was singing the hymn of freedom inside of his death sells.   

But the most emotional scene that I witnessed was weeping of some children who were crying for their mothers, the women who were going to give their lives because of their political and ideological beliefs.

 Even after I was out of prison for a while, none of my friends had any knowledge about what happened to most of those kids.

In 1990, the representative of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights came to Iran for the first time, to visit and examine prisons of Iran. The Islamic regime hid all of us, the 900 survivors, and substituted the guards and others as the real political prisoners.

 Fortunately, the United Nations’ delegation had some names and pictures of prisoners, and especially there was one prisoner that the representative of the Human Rights was looking for, and therefore, the regime was unable to substitute him with someone else. Through this one prisoner, the delegation of the human rights found all of us, prepared photo ID, and made the necessary case for all 900 survivors to save their lives.

 And this was and still is the story of all other survivors.   Even right now there are many of them inside prisons of the Islamic regime.  Some of them are killed by the secret agents of the regime, making it look like car or other types of accidents.

 My crying today is just a small reflection of those kids’ tears, and my shouts are small echo of the roar of the oppressed Iranian people. 

 My only and final appeal is to American people. Those who believe in kindness and freedom, and those who value human life.  I appeal to you that for the sake of all humanity, and for the sake of millions of suffering human beings in Iran, ask your government to stop supporting this terrorist, fascist, and anti-human regime. And in doing so, support the struggle of Iranian people for democracy and freedom. 

 Down with the Iranian Islamic regime and all its supporters around the world.  

 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, once again thank you for all your attention and your kindness.

 God bless you

 Yours truly,

 Hossein Mokhtar