Stockholm: Iranians, Supporters of the MEK and the NCRI, Called for the Trial of Khamenei and Raisi
Monday, August 23, 2021, on the sixth day of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, the supporters of the MEK and the families of the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and the plaintiffs and witnesses of the Noury’s trial staged a large demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI), was keynote speaker at the demonstration and send a message to the gathering.
The full text of Mrs. Rajavi’s message is as follows:
Fellow compatriots,
Courageous supporters,
I hail you, honorable women, and men, who carry the flag of justice for the massacred victims and of Iran’s freedom on your shoulders.
Today, the protesters of the nationwide uprising in July, particularly our Arab compatriots in Khuzestan, can hear themselves in your demonstration that one cannot and must not put up with the mullahs’ rule.
The Resistance Units hear in your demonstration the admiring and supporting voice of a nation that tells them to set up the battalions of the Liberation Army and forge ahead in the only path that will overthrow the mullahs.
The world hears the calls for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre in your demonstration. For 30,000 resistant and steadfast heroes, more than 90% of whom were members of the PMOI/MEK. They laid down their lives for freedom and walked to the gallows while shouting the name of Massoud Rajavi.
Your rally outside the Court of Stockholm is the Iranian people’s remarkable victory over the clerical regime that wanted to use this court as a tool to condemn the Call-for-Justice Movement.
As the trial of the clerical regime’s agent began in the District Court of Stockholm, you put the regime, in its entirety, on trial in front of the court.
During his trial, the heartless killer, who put the noose around the necks of many of your sisters and brothers, said that your cries for justice outside the court were “some kind of torture” for him.
At that moment, he described the feeling of all members of the clerical regime’s ruling clique. They are afraid of your voice and the voice of the Iranian people every day and night. They fear the voice of resistant political prisoners. They tremble from the voice of protesters because they know that the owners of these voices will destroy the mullahs’ brutal and authoritarian rule. They will obliterate all the institutions of torture and suppression. And on such a day, their voice will be the cry of all Iranians for freedom.
The Call-for-Justice Movement began in summer 1988 when the Leader of the Iranian Resistance, Massoud Rajavi, sent telegrams to the U.N. Secretary-General. The movement has incessantly continued its activities since then.
On August 25, 1988, he wrote to the U.N. Secretary-General that Khomeini had issued a hand-written decree, ordering the execution of the PMOI political prisoners.
Today, the U.N. special rapporteurs, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Amnesty International, and more than 150 human rights advocates are calling for the formation of an independent delegation to investigate the 1988 massacre and hold its masterminds and perpetrators accountable.
The Call-for-Justice Movement is the Iranian people’s determined and steadfast movement that will advance until the Iranian people’s court or an international tribunal prosecutes the clerical regime’s leaders for their genocide and crime against humanity.
Fellow compatriots,
Ali Khamenei and his collaborator’s hanged thousands upon thousands of political prisoners in 1988 to preserve their rule. With the same ruthless brutality, they are killing hundreds of thousands of helpless people today in the inferno of the Coronavirus.
The Iranian Resistance and particularly the Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi revealed in February 2020 that Khamenei had adopted an ominous strategy, paving the way for massive human casualties to contain the widespread protests. From the outset, the Iranian Resistance firmly declared that Khamenei was the main culprit responsible for the Coronavirus enormous death toll and called for his prosecution.
Now, the public opinion in Iran believes that Khamenei must be recognized as the foremost criminal responsible for the Coronavirus catastrophe. Many want him brought to justice.
As Massoud Rajavi said: “Since the Khomeini regime is a unique example after the Mongols’ Attack on Iran, the leaders of the mullahs’ regime and the masterminds and perpetrators of the 1988 massacre, must be prosecuted and punished by an international tribunal and the Iranian people’s court. The prosecution is the right of the Iranian people, the right of humanity, the right of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran, and their people.”
We, therefore, urge the international community to recognize the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 as genocide and a crime against humanity.
It is imperative, particularly for the European governments, to revise their policy of turning a blind eye on the largest massacre of political prisoners since World War II. As it was recently stated in the letter by a group of members of the European Parliament to the E.U. foreign policy chief, appeasing and placating the Iranian regime “contradicts European commitments to uphold and stand up for human rights.”
Europe and the world, in general, must take steps to fulfill the Iranian people’s desire for international prosecution of Ali Khamenei and Ebrahim Raisi for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Western governments must respect the demand of the Iranian people and Resistance and do not accept Raisi, the mass murderer, in their countries or any of the international forums.
And finally, I would like to tell you, the courageous supporters of the Iranian Resistance, to keep alight the Call-for-Justice Movement ever brighter every day.
Advance the Call-for-Justice Movement vigorously until you pour the poison chalice of human rights down the throat of Khamenei and his regime.
Remember that you are the voice of thousands upon thousands of families and parents who cannot even mourn their fallen children or visit their graves under the mullahs’ repressive rule.
Yes, you are the resounding voice of 30,000 heroes massacred in 1988 and the cry of all the people of Iran for freedom.
Hail to your resolve and struggle
Long live freedom
Hail to the people of Iran.
Some members of the Swedish parliament and international political figures also gave a speech, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, former US Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and former Finnish Minister Kimmo Sasi.
The text of the speeches of some of the speakers of these large demonstrations can be read below:
Ms. Betancourt
Ms. Betancourt praised Sweden for holding one of the 1988 massacre’s henchmen to account. “Sweden has embodied the good soul of humanity and represents the good of us. Knowing they are embracing our cause and activating the international community’s responsibility for accountability,” she said.
While referring to Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa in 1988, Ms. Betancourt said: “This massacre started with a fatwa that condemned victims because they did not adhere to the regime’s political insanity. They were buried in mass graves. The death commission across Iran did this massacre.”
Following Khomeini’s fatwa, the death commissions were formed across Iran, deciding the fate of the political prisoners in few moments. Ebrahim Raisi, the regime’s new president, was one of the members of Tehran’s “Death Commissions.”
While reminding this fact, Ms. Betancourt underlined that “how the absence of the international community’s action has emboldened the regime to put forward a face of genocide as the country’s president. “
Patrick Kennedy
Patrick Kennedy, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, was another speaker of the rally. He said: “We all know, those who fail to remember history are condemned to repeat.
We must establish a permanent war crime tribunal to prosecute these crimes. If we fail to prosecute crimes and acknowledge them, we put our sons and daughters at risk. We remember the 1988 massacre because those who did it, like the [regime’s] new president Ebrahim Raisi should be held accountable for committing those atrocities. We must initiate international investigations and prosecute these criminals.”
Kimmo Sasi
Kimmo Sasi, the ex-Finland’s Minister of Foreign Trade, was the next speaker at the event. “The 1988 massacre was one of the darkest moments in Iran’s history. Thirty thousand political prisoners were murdered,” he underlined.
Mr. Sasi underlined that Nouri’s trial in Sweden is “the first step of a process in Europe. It means all those involved in the 1988 massacre should be held accountable, and I hope Raisi be brought to court. I call on the E.U. to take a new attitude toward Iran, put sanctions, bring those accused of human rights to courts of justice. “
Protesters also marched on the streets of Stockholm, calling on the international community to end decades of silence over the 1988 massacre and hold the perpetrators to account. They also supported their risen compatriots in Iran and condemned the regime’s ongoing human rights violations.
Alexandra Anstrell Swedish MP
The Iranian regime’s record of human rights violations is horrific. The Swedish government is trying to bring human rights abusers to justice. We support your struggle…
Swedish MP .@aanstrell told the participants in this rally: “The Iranian regime’s record of human rights violations is horrific. The Swedish government is trying to bring human rights abusers to justice. We support your struggle… pic.twitter.com/pp48GymoDc
— Women's Committee NCRI (@womenncri) August 25, 2021
Other speakers at the rally were included: Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI) in the Nordic countries, Mr. Parviz Khazaei, Ms. Gisoo Shakeri, an artist member of the NCRI, and families of the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and former political prisoners.
At the end of the speeches, demonstrators took to the streets of Stockholm, chanting slogans against the leaders of the Iranian regime. They called for the international tribunal for prosecution of regime leaders, especially supreme leader Ali Khamenei and new president Ebrahim Raisi due to the crime against humanity.
