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

Hossein Aqel

About

Age: 28
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Non-Believer
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: July 30, 1981
Location of Killing: Rasht, Gilan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Hossein Aqel, along with three other individuals, was announced by the Revolutionary Guards of Gilan province and published in the Kayhan newspaper on August 3, 1981. According to this report, Mr. Hossein Aqel was a member of the Peykar Organization.

Mr. Hossein Aqel is one of the 12,028 individuals listed in an addendum to the Mojahed magazine (No 261), published by the Mojahedin Khalq Organization on September 6, 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 Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class was founded by a number of dissident members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization who had converted to Marxism-Leninism. Peykar was also joined by a number of political organizations, known as Khat-e Se (Third line). The founding tenets of Peykar included the rejection of guerrilla struggle and a strong stand against the pro-Soviet policies of the Iranian Tudeh Party. Peykar viewed the Soviet Union as a “Social imperialist” state, believed that China had deviated from the Marxist-Leninist principles, and radically opposed all factions of the Islamic regime of Iran. The brutal repression of dissidents by the Iranian government and splits within Peykar in 1981 and 1982 effectively dismantled the Organization and scattered its supporters. By the mid-1980s, Peykar was no longer in existence.

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial.

Charges

According to the above announcement, the collective charge against Mr. Hossein Aqel and three other co-defendants was “armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic regime.”

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

The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against the defendant.

Defense

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

Judgment

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht identified Mr. Hossein Aqel a “rebel, corruptor, and an enemy of God” and condemned him to death. He was shot by a firing squad in Rasht on July 30, 1981 at dawn.

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