Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Bahman (Saleh) Mohsenpur

About

Age: 23
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Shi'a)
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: March 10, 1985
Location of Killing: Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Membership of anti-regime guerilla group; Possession of arms; Murder

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Bahman Mohsenpur (Mojahedin Khalq Iran), along with 14 others, was announced in a communiqué by the Intelligence Office of Mazandaran. The communiqué was published in the Kayhan daily on March 11, 1985.

The communiqué is as follows:

“In the Name of God

Due to the favors of God and the wise advice of our respectful Imam about ending the Forest commotion, as well as the continuous efforts and sacrifices of the Islamic Revolution’s Revolutionary Guards, the hellish spidery organization of the hypocrites was destroyed in the verdant forests of Mazandaran. And all the partisans of estekbar (arrogance) were seized by the wrath of the avenging and omnipotent God. Away from their fugitive leaders, the traitors abroad, and their treacherous clamor, all the members were captured by the valiant men of Islam.”

Mr. Mohsenpur is also among the 282 individuals listed in a United Nations Report on The Situation of Human Right in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Note by the Secretary General), published on 13 November 1985. The report lists these individuals as "Persons who were allegedly summarily and arbitrarily executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 1984-1985." In addition, he is one of the 12028 individuals listed in an addendum to the Mojahed magazine (No 261), published by Mojahedin Khalq Organization in 1985. The list includes individuals, affiliated with various opposition groups, who were executed or killed during clashes with the Islamic Republic security forces from June 1981 to the publication date of the magazine.

The Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) was founded in 1965. This organization adapted the principles of Islam as its ideological guideline. However, its members’ interpretation of Islam was revolutionary and they believed in armed struggle against the Shah’s regime. They valued Marxism as a progressive method for economic and social analysis but considered Islam as their source of inspiration, culture, and ideology. In the 1970s, the MKO was weakened when many of its members were imprisoned and executed. In 1975, following a deep ideological crisis, the organization refuted Islam as its ideology and, after a few of its members were killed and other Muslim members purged, the organization proclaimed Marxism as its ideology. This move led to split of the Marxist-Leninist Section of the MKO in 1977. In January of 1979, the imprisoned Muslim leaders of the MKO were released along with other political prisoners. They began to re-organize the MKO and recruit new members based on Islamic ideology. After the 1979 Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the MKO accepted the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini and supported the Revolution. Active participation in the political scene and infiltration of governmental institutions were foremost on the organization’s agenda. During the first two years after the Revolution, the MKO succeeded in recruiting numerous sympathizers, especially in high schools and universities; but its efforts to gain political power, either by appointment or election, were strongly opposed by the Islamic Republic leaders. *

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of Mr. Mohsenpur’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

No information is available on Mr. Mohsenpur’s trial.

Charges

The communiqué does not specify the charges against Mr. Mohsenpur. All 14 defendants are collectively charged with: “membership in the hypocrites organization (term used for the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization by the Islamic Republic authorities), martyring an unarmed shepherd who refused to collaborate with them with a knife and poniard - not shooting him in order not to waste a bullet-, martyring 6 members of Basij (Mobilization Forces) of Qaemshahr cruelly while they were asleep, as well as committing tens of crimes resulting in 21 martyrs and 23 wounded.”

Evidence of guilt

There is no evidence presented in the communiqué that specifically incriminates Mr. Mohsenpur. According to the communiqué all the defendants were implicated through both their confessions during the trial in front of the families of those killed, and weapons found during search and seizure by the revolutionary guards. The report explains: “upon searching the shelters of the defendants, the revolutionary guards found: “tens of war weapons, military grenades, cyanide, ‘se rahi’ (kind of explosive), walkie-talkies, and two military compasses, in addition to, many cartridges.” There is no mention of the specifics of these confessions.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Mohsenpur’s defense.

Judgment

Mr. Mohsenpur was sentenced to death. There is no information about the tribunal which issued the death sentence. Having been confirmed by the Supreme Judicial Council, the sentence was carried out at dawn on March 10.

_________________________

*The exclusion of MKO members from government offices and the closure of their centers and publishing houses, in conjunction with to the Islamic Republic authorities’ different interpretation of Islam, widened the gap between the two. Authorities of the new regime referred to the Mojahedin as “Hypocrites” and the Hezbollahi supporters of the regime attacked the Mojahedin sympathizers regularly during demonstrations and while distributing publications, leading to the death of several MKO supporters. On June 20, 1981, the MKO called for a demonstration protesting their treatment by governmental officials and the government officials’ efforts to impeach their ally, President Abolhassan Banisadr. Despite the fact that the regime called this demonstration illegal, thousands came to the streets, some of whom confronted the Revolutionary Guardsmen and Hezbollahis. The number of casualties that resulted from this demonstration is unknown but a large number of demonstrators were arrested and executed in the following days and weeks. The day after the demonstration, the Islamic Republic regime started a repressive campaign – unprecedented in modern Iranian history. Thousands of MKO members and sympathizers were arrested or executed. On June 21, 1981, the MKO announced an armed struggle against the Islamic Republic and assassinated a number of high-ranking officials and supporters of the Islamic regime. 

In the summer of 1981, the leader of the MKO and the impeached President (Banisadr) fled Iran to reside in France, where they founded the National Council of Resistance. After the MKO leaders and many of its members were expelled from France, they went to Iraq and founded the National Liberation Army of Iran in 1987, which entered Iranian territory a few times during the Iran-Iraq war. They were defeated in July 1988 during their last operation, the Forugh Javidan Operation. A few days after this operation, thousands of imprisoned Mojahedin supporters were killed during the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. Ever since the summer of 1981, the MKO has continued its activities outside of Iran. No information is available regarding members and activities of the MKO inside the country.

In spite of the “armed struggle” announcement by the MKO on June 20, 1981, many sympathizers of the organization had no military training, were not armed, and did not participate in armed conflict.

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