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

Mansur Beheshti

About

Age: 26
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Non-Believer
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: July 19, 1982
Location of Killing: Khoramabad, Lorestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Fighting against the revolution/blocking the path of God; Actively opposing the Islamic Republic

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Mansur Beheshti, along with two others, was announced in a communiqué by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Khorramabad. The communiqué was reported in the Jomhuri Eslami daily on July 25, 1982.   

Mr. Beheshti is one of the 12,028 individuals listed in an addendum to the Mojahed magazine (No. 261), published by the 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.   

Information about Mr. Mansur Beheshti, son of Mohammadrafi’, is based on an interview with a person close to him and several electronic forms sent to Omid by persons familiar with his case. According to this information, he was born in Alshotor, Khorramabad, on March 7, 1957. He was single, a high school graduate, and a teacher in Zagheh. There are various reports regarding Mr. Beheshti’s political affiliation. In some of the electronic forms he was reported as a sympathizer of the Fadaiyan Khalq Majority and, in one form, he was affiliated with the Left Faction of this organization. The communiqué from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards described him as “a central committee member of the Left Faction.” According to another electronic form, he was affiliated with the Fadaiyan Khalq Minority. His name is listed among the victims of this organization. According to the interviewee, Mr. Beheshti was a member of the Fadaiyan Khalq Majority – Left Faction.           

The Fadaiyan Khalq Organization, a Marxist-Leninist group, inspired by the Cuban Revolution and the urban guerilla movements of Latin America, was founded in 1971 by two communist groups opposed to the Pahlavi regime.  Following the 1979 Revolution, the Organization, which had renounced armed struggle, split over its support, respectively, for the Islamic Republic and the Soviet Union.  A month after this split, other splits occurred. The Fadaiyan Khalq Majority – Left Faction was the first group to split over opposition with the Majority tendency to cooperate with the Islamic regime and joining the Tudeh Party. This group ended its activities after several years of publishing its views inside and outside of Iran.      

Arrest and detention

According to the information sent to Omid and in the interview (above), Mr. Mansur Beheshti was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards at Dara’izadeh Bridge in Khorramabad on January 30, 1982 around 11 a.m. He was transferred to the Revolutionary Guards’ base. He was identified in connection with the disclosure of a house where the printing machine of the organization was kept. He was denied access to an attorney or having any visitation. He was only allowed once to call his family. According to one form, he was tortured and kept in solitary confinement during his thirty-six-day detention.      

Trial

According to the information sent to Omid, Mr. Mansur Beheshti was tried by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Khorramabad in a closed session and without the presence of his family.   

Charges

According to the Jomhuri Eslami daily, Mr. Mansur Beheshti, with the pseudonym “Rahman,” a Khorramabad resident, was charged with “being a member of the Central Committee of the Left Faction and active participation in directing the operations for overthrowing the Islamic Republic of Iran.” According to the information sent to Omid and the interview, the charges against Mr. Mansur Beheshti in his indictment were announced as “fighting against God and the prophet and acting for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.”   

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.   

Evidence of guilt

According to the information sent to Omid, the evidence provided against Mr. Mansur Beheshti was “confessions of others.”   

Defense

No information is available about Mr. Beheshti’s defense.    

Judgment

According to the Jomhuri Eslami daily, the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Khorramabad sentenced Mr. Beheshti and two others to death. Having been confirmed by the Supreme Judicial Council, the sentence was carried out on Monday July 19, 1982, at dawn. According to the information sent to Omid and the interview, Mr. Mansur Beheshti was executed by firing squad at the Revolutionary Guards’ base in Khorramabad. His body and the bodies of two others were buried in a remote part of the cemetery in Khorramabad without informing his family. After hearing the news on the radio, the family of Mr. Beheshti went to the authorities and found the location of his grave with the help of some acquainted clergymen. After they installed a tomb stone, it was destroyed by Hezbollah agents three times. They prevented the relatives from gathering at the cemetery. Based on a request made by Mr. Beheshti’s mother, the civil registration office in Khorramabad issued a letter indicating the date of death as July 20, 1982, without any explanation for the cause of death. Mr. Beheshti was 26 years old. 

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