Coinciding to the trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the MEK, gathered in front of the Stockholm courthouse. Also, in Ashraf 3, MEK members held a rally calling for justice to be served. — November 29, 2021
November, 29, 2021: The 45th session of the trial of Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre, took place in the Stockholm court. The court hearing in Stockholm on Monday, November 29, dedicated to fourth session of the interrogation of the executioner Noury by the prosecutor, the plaintiffs’ lawyers and the judge.
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Coinciding to the trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), demonstrated in front of the Stockholm district court.
Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/MEK), chanted, “We are seeking justice for the 1988 massacre, and at every moment we stand in solidarity with the uprising of the Iranian people.” in front of a Stockholm courthouse.
Coinciding to the trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the MEK, gathered in front of the Stockholm courthouse. Also, in Ashraf 3, MEK members held a rally calling for justice to be served. — November 26, 2021
November, 26, 2021 — Stockholm, Sweden: The trial of the executioner Hamid Noury began at 9:45 am local time. This was the third trial of Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre, after the trial returned from Durrës to Stockholm. The court hearing in Stockholm on Friday, November 26, was devoted to continuation of the interrogation of Hamid Noury by the prosecutor, the plaintiffs’ lawyers and the judge.
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Coinciding to the trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), gathered in front of the Stockholm courthouse.
Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/MEK), chanted, “We are seeking justice for the 1988 massacre, and at every moment we stand in solidarity with the uprising of the Iranian people.” in front of a Stockholm courthouse.
Coinciding to the trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the MEK, gathered in front of the Stockholm courthouse. Also, in Ashraf 3, MEK members held a rally calling for justice to be served.
November 25, 2021: The trial of the executioner Hamid Noury began at 9 am local time in Stockholm, Sweden. This session was dedicated to the interrogation of Noury by the prosecutor in the Stockholm court for his crimes during the 1988 massacre.
At the beginning of today’s hearing of Hamid Noury, the plaintiffs’ lawyer and witnesses in the trial, pointed out Hamid Noury’s insults to the Mojahedin Organization and said that the defendant used the word “Monafeghin —means hypocrites” instead of mentioning the Mojahedin organization.
The court head warned Hamid Noury to use the terms mentioned in the indictment because the organization was named Mojahedin in the indictment.
Hamid Noury’s strong defense of Khamenei: My leader has been disrespected. I have to explain that they lied that we do not have anything called the Mojahedin Organization; we do not have a prison named Gohardasht. Judge: This case is about the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
The executioner, Noury: We do not have anything called the Mojahedin Organization in Iran. If I say the Mojahedin Organization, I will be arrested when I go to Iran.
1988 massacre executioner Hamid Noury: Because I have said many times that the Mojahedin Organization, I am afraid that I will be arrested instead of being welcomed in Iran when I go to Iran. The head of Iran’s judiciary, Mohseni Ejei, is not joking with anyone.
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Coinciding to the trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), gathered in front of the Stockholm courthouse.
Freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/MEK), chanted “Justice, justice, the answer to this crime” in front of a Stockholm courthouse.
Iranians and supporters of the MEK call for the prosecution and accountability of Iranian regime leaders, especially Ali Khamenei and mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, and all officials involved in the summer 1988 massacre.
Trial of the Executioner Hamid Noury in Stockholm, Rally in Ashraf 3, and Demonstrations by Iranian Resistance Supporters in Sweden — November 23, 2021
November 23, 2021: The trial of the executioner Hamid Noury began at 9 am local time in Stockholm, Sweden. Hamid Noury will be heard in court from Tuesday, November 23 for 4 days.
This session is dedicated to the interrogation of Noury by the prosecutor, the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and the judge. On Monday, the Iranian resistance transferred a replica of the Gohardasht prison made by the MEK members and the Ashraf 3 plaintiffs used in the Durrës court to Sweden at the court’s request. It transferred it to the court building in Stockholm for use in subsequent hearings.
At the beginning of the Stockholm court hearing, the presiding judge announced a ten-minute break so that executioner Hamid Noury and his lawyers could see a replica of the Gohardasht prison, including the death corridor and the death hall.
Executioner Hamid Noury in his remarks defended the regime of the executioners, mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, the executioner Lajevardi and terrorist Qassem Soleimani. He called the 1988 genocide and massacre “a play and a fictional and illusory and empty and false story, unreal, fake and fake.”
He said Khomeini was insulted in this court. Ebrahim Raisi was insulted; this is where I reacted. Qassem Soleimani was insulted. A heavy world fell on my head when he was insulted!
Prosecutor Assadollah Lajevardi was insulted, and many others were insulted. During the defense, I talk about all these characters. All the one-sided words were heard from the opponents of the Islamic Republic. Unfortunately, the people of the world do not know these people. Now Hamid Noury will say who they are.
The Executioner Hamid Noury described the anti-patriotic war in the language of the criminal mullahs of the “Holy Defense.”
He called the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran “a group of hypocrites” and continued his remarks by spreading sludge and vicious attacks on the MEK.
Simultaneously with this trial, freedom-loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), rallied in front of a Stockholm courthouse.
Iranians and supporters of the MEK call for the prosecution and accountability of Iranian regime leaders, especially Ali Khamenei and mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, and all officials involved in the summer 1988 massacre.
Seventh Day of the Trial of Hamid Noury, the Executioner of the 1988 Massacre, at the Durrës Court in Albania
Coinciding With the 41st Court Hearing in Albania, Freedom-Loving Iranians, Supporters of the MEK in Sweden, Staged a Rally in Front of Stockholm Court
Thursday, November 18, 2021 — The seventh session of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, held in the city of Durrës, Albania, with the presence of the plaintiffs and witnesses, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), residents of Ashraf 3.
Coinciding with the anniversary of the November 2019 uprising and the appeals court on bombing at the 2018 Iranian Resistance Grand Gathering, in Antwerp, Belgium, the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury took place in Durrës, Albania on November 18.
At 8 am on November 18, the hearing of the testimony of MEK member Hassan Ashrafian as a witness began in the court of the Durrës, Albania.
Hassan Ashrafian with other plaintiffs entering Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 18, 2021
First, the judge explained the framework for the testimony of Hassan Ashrafian, and then asked Hassan to swear that he would not conceal or change the matter as a witness, and to state all his observations. The prosecutor then began his questions with witness Hassan Ashrafian.
Hassan Ashrafian was arrested by the regime’s IRGC on January 4, 1983. He was transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison on October 24, 1983. And transferred to Gohardasht Prison in Karaj on March 31, 1986. During the massacre of political prisoners in ward 3 of Gohardasht prison, he witnessed massacres.
#Iran's IRGC arrested Ashrafian on January 4, 1983, for supporting the MEK. He spent three years in Tehran’s Evin and Ghezel Hesar prisons. In 1986, he was transferred to Gohardasht prison. During the #1988Massacre, he was in Ward 3 of Gohardasht prison.pic.twitter.com/qPsRvCWm6G
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 18, 2021
Ashrafian described Gohardasht prison’s chain of command. Mohammad Moghiseh, who was also known as “Nasserian,” ran the affairs of the prison. “As far as I know, Hamid Abbasi [Noury] was his [Nasserian’s] deputy. And Davoud Lashgari was in charge of prison security,” he said.
“I could hear Hamid Abbasi’s [Noury] voice who was saying, ‘Beat these Monafeghs (infidels)’ [the term the regime uses to refer to MEK members and supporters],” Ashrafian explained, recalling a certain case of prison guards torturing the political prisoners.
The executioner Hamid Noury
“In September 1988, we were 53 prisoners in Ward 3. Before the 1988 massacre, there were 200 people. Of these, six or seven were charged with offenses other than supporting the MEK, but 190 of them were MEK supporters. Of these 200 people, only 53 remained,” Ashrafian said.
Ashrafian: “Nasserian threatened us and said: ‘We killed all of them, and we will kill the rest of you later… Don’t think our hands are tied. We can execute you like the rest anytime we want.’… Noury was there and agreed with every statement by nodding his head.”
Ashrafian: In Nov 1988, in response to issues we raised about our conditions in prison, Abbasi said, ‘Go & thank God that you’re alive. If we wanted to execute Imam’s fatwa—he meant Khomeini—completely, we would have to arrest & execute half of the people of Iran.’”
“From July 30, 1988, when they started reading out names, we knew where they were taking them,” Ashrafian said. “They took the rest of us to the cells. We said our goodbyes to those who were taken away.”
Hassan Ashrafian with other plaintiffs in front of the Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 18, 2021
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Stockholm, Sweden, November, 18, 2021— Coinciding with the 41st court hearing in Albania, freedom-Loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) rallied in Front of Stockholm district court.
Supporters of the Iranian resistance declared their solidarity with the martyrs of the November 2019 nationwide uprising. They also stressed to continue of seeking Justice for the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and their families.
Iranians, MEK supporters and relatives of the 1988 massacre martyrs called for the prosecution of the mullahs’ regime leader supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, the executioner of the 1988 massacre, in international courts for crimes against humanity.
At the same time of the Hamid Noury trial in Durrës, Albania, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Ashraf 3 held a ceremony in memory of the over 30,000 political prisoners executed by the mullahs’ regime during the 1988 massacre.
It is worth noting that hundreds of former political prisoners are now in Ashraf 3, and many of them were prepared to testify in the Stockholm court. Due to limitations in time, only a few were accepted as plaintiffs in the case.
Sixth Day of the Trial of Hamid Noury, the Executioner of the 1988 Massacre, at the Durrës Court in Albania — November 17, 2021
Coinciding With the 40th Court Hearing in Albania, Freedom-Loving Iranians, Supporters of the MEK in Sweden, Staged a Rally in Front of Stockholm Court
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 — The sixth session of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, held in the city of Durrës, Albania, with the presence of the plaintiffs and witnesses, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), residents of Ashraf 3.
The trial of Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre, took place in three days 10-12 November of the last week, and it continues this week on Monday through Thursday, November 15-18, 2021, in Durrës court, Albania.
This was the 40th trial session of the henchman Hamid Noury one of the executioners of 30,000 political prisoners in the 1988 massacre in Iran’s regime prisons across the country.
At 8 am on November 17, 2021, the hearing of the testimony of MEK member Hossein Farsi began in the court of the executioner Hamid Noury, in Durrës, Albania.
In Wednesday’s session, Hossein Farsi, a former political prisoner who spent 12 years in Iran’s prison for supporting the MEK, testified on the atrocities in the regime’s horrific prisons.
At the beginning of the hearing, Mr. Kenneth Lewis, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, informed the court that he was donating a replica of Gohardasht Prison to the court.
First, Ms. Gita Huding, Hossein Farsi’s lawyer, introduced him and his prison records and the prisons he had been in. Ms. Gita said that Hossein Farsi had written his observations in prison in a book entitled “A Galaxy of Stars ”, which is one of the documents in the case.
Hossein Farsi with other plaintiffs entering Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 17, 2021
During Iran’s 1988 massacre, Farsi was taken to the “Death Corridor” four times and faced the “Death Commission” twice. During this period, he saw Hamid Noury several times, as he played an active role in taking prisoners for execution.
Political prisoners taken to the death corridor and faced the death commission
The “Death Commission” was acting on the direct orders of the regime’s then supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, who had issued a fatwa that stated anyone who continues to support the MEK is an enemy of God and deserves to die.
While in the Death Corridor, Farsi met several prisoners who said they went to the Death Commission and presented themselves as supporters of the MEK. They were all executed. “Hamid Abbasi and two or three other guards guided the prisoners to the Death Hall.”
One night, prison guards entered Farsi’s cell and began him, demanding that he insult Iran opposition MEK leaders. Prison guards told him he will be executed after informing Farsi that they had executed his brother, Hassan, in Tehran’s Evin prison.
Farsi was taken to the “Death Corridor”. Around noon, Hamid Noury and two other guards came and read the names of around 20 people. “When he finished reading the names, he laughed… And then took them to the [Death Hall],” Farsi added.
Farsi was taken to the Death Corridor. Around noon, Hamid Noury & two other guards came & read the names of around 20 people.
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 17, 2021
Hossein Farsi with other plaintiffs in front of the Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 17, 2021
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Stockholm, Sweden, November, 17, 2021— Coinciding with the 40th court hearing in Albania, freedom-Loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) rallied in Front of Stockholm district court.
Supporters of the Iranian resistance declared their solidarity with the martyrs of the November 2019 nationwide uprising. They also stressed to continue of seeking Justice for the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and their families.
Iranians, MEK supporters and relatives of the 1988 massacre martyrs called for the prosecution of the mullahs’ regime leader supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, the executioner of the 1988 massacre, in international courts for crimes against humanity.
Coinciding with the Hamid Noury trial in Durrës, Albania, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Ashraf 3 held a ceremony in memory of the over 30,000 political prisoners executed by the mullahs’ regime during the 1988 massacre.
It is worth noting that hundreds of former political prisoners are now in Ashraf 3, and many of them were prepared to testify in the Stockholm court. Due to limitations in time, only a few were accepted as plaintiffs in the case.
Fifth Day of the Trial of Hamid Noury, the Executioner of the 1988 Massacre, at the Durrës Court in Albania — November 16, 2021
Coinciding With the 39th Court Hearing in Albania, Freedom-Loving Iranians, Supporters of the MEK in Sweden, Staged a Rally in Front of Stockholm Court
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 — The fifth session of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, began in the city of Durrës, Albania, with the presence of the plaintiffs and witnesses, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), residents of Ashraf 3.
On Tuesday, November 16, the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury held for the fifth consecutive session in Durrës, Albania. In this session, MEK member Mahmoud Royaei testified as a plaintiff against Noury.
The trial of Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre, took place in three days 10-12 November of the last week, and it continues this week on Monday through Thursday, November 15-18, 2021, in Durrës Court, Albania.
This was the 39th trial session of the henchman Hamid Noury one of the executioners of 30,000 political prisoners in the 1988 massacre in Iran’s regime prisons across the country.
In the previous days, the MEK members and former political prisoners Mohammad Zand, Majid Sahib Jam, Asghar Mehdizadeh and Akbar Samadi appeared in court as plaintiffs and testified about the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison and the role of the executioner Hamid Noury in the massacre.
At 8 am on November 16, 2021, the hearing of the testimony of MEK member Mahmoud Royaei began in the court of the executioner Hamid Noury, in Durrës, Albania.
Royaei, arrested in 1981 at the age of 18, has described the crimes Iran’s regime committed against political prisoners in a series of five books. His writing also includes the role Hamid Noury played in the 1988 massacre as one of the senior prison guards in Gohardasht prison.
Royaei’s testimony indicates Iran’s 1988 massacre was years in the making.
At the beginning of the hearing, the prosecutor summarized the story of Mahmoud Royaei’s 10 years in prison. After this summary, the prosecutor started asking questions of Mahmoud Royaei.
In his testimony, Mahmoud Royaei, a former political prisoner who spent 10 years in Iran’s prisons, described on the atrocities that took place in the regime’s horrific prisons. During Iran’s 1988 massacre, Royaei was in Gohardasht prison.
Mahmoud Royaei with other plaintiffs entering Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 16, 2021
“After thanking the judge, the prosecutors, as well as the team of lawyers who traveled to Albania to find out the truth, Mahmoud Royaei said: As you know, 21 years before Hamid Noury’s arrest, I revealed Hamid Noury’s role in the corridor of death in an interview. I saw Hamid Noury before, during and after the “death courts”.
“In March 1988, a group of prisoners were brought from Kermanshah to Gohardasht… under a plan to classify prisoners, employed by Davoud Lashgari, Nasserian [Mohammad Moghiseh] & Hamid [Noury],” he said.
“These series of events reminded us of the dark memories of 1981. Every night, hundreds of prisoners were executed while the authorities shouted ‘Death to the Monafegh’ [the term the regime uses to refer to the MEK,” Royaei said.
“It became clear to us that the first executions were from the prisoners of Karaj because [current regime president Ebrahim] Raisi was the prosecutor of Karaj and personally knew them,” Royaei said.
“It became clear to us that the first executions were from the prisoners of Karaj because [current regime president Ebrahim] Raisi was the prosecutor of Karaj and personally knew them,” Royaei said.#ProsecuteRaisiNOW#1988Massacre#Iranpic.twitter.com/X63gij5bfJ
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 16, 2021
Raisi was a member of the “Death Commission” that decided the fate of each political prisoner. Those who did not disavow their support for the MEK would be sent to the gallows.
The Death Commission was acting on direct orders from regime supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini. On August 2, 1988, Royaei was summoned along with several other prisoners.
The prisoners were taken to a corridor that became known as the “Death Corridor,” where prisoners waited for their turn to meet the Death Commission.
At the end of the Death Corridor was the “Death Hall,” the warehouse where prisoners were hanged in groups. As one group of inmates were hanged, the prison authorities forced the others to watch until it became their turn to have the noose thrown around their neck.
“After about half an hour, I recognized the voice of Hamid Abbasi [Noury] calling names. I pushed up my blindfold a bit and saw Hamid Abbasi standing in the middle of the hallway and reading names,” Royaei said.
"After about half an hour, I recognized the voice of Hamid Abbasi [Noury] calling names. I pushed up my blindfold a bit and saw Hamid Abbasi standing in the middle of the hallway and reading names,” Royaei said.#1988Massacre#Iranpic.twitter.com/tFB6vluFMo
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 16, 2021
“Around 5 or 6 pm, Nasserian took me to the Death Commission,” Royaei said. “There was [Hossein Ali] Nayyeri; intel ministry representative [Mostafa] Pourmohammadi, [Morteza] Eshraghi, and [Ebrahim] Raisi whom I thought to be a prison guard,” he added.
In the Death Corridor, Royaei heard Noury calling 10-15 names, those being taken for execution. “I was sitting less than a meter from [Noury]. I could see a few meters from under the blindfold. The guards were wearing military attire. But Nasserian & [Noury] wore plain clothes.”
Royaei: I came to Gohardasht prison in 1986, and I would see Hamid Abbasi and Nasserian from then on. I’ve remembered his face ever since… In total, I had seen Hamid Abbasi about five or six times from 1986 to the days of the Death Corridor.
Mahmoud Royaei with other plaintiffs in front of the Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 16, 2021
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Stockholm, Sweden, November, 16, 2021— Coinciding with the 39th court hearing in Albania, freedom-Loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) rallied in Front of Stockholm district court.
Supporters of the Iranian resistance declared their solidarity with the martyrs of the November 2019 nationwide uprising. They also stressed to continue of seeking Justice for the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and their families.
Iranians, MEK supporters and relatives of the 1988 massacre martyrs called for the prosecution of the mullahs’ regime leader supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, the executioner of the 1988 massacre, in international courts for crimes against humanity.
At the same time, MEK members in Ashraf 3 held a gathering in memory of the victims of the 1988 massacre. They also, commemorated Iran’s November 2019 uprising and it’s martyrs. During this ceremony, many political prisoners spoke and retold accounts of the atrocities that took place in Iran’s prisons.
It is worth noting that hundreds of former political prisoners are now in Ashraf 3, and many of them were prepared to testify in the Stockholm court. Due to limitations in time, only a few were accepted as plaintiffs in the case.
Fourth Day of the Trial of Hamid Noury, the Executioner of the 1988 Massacre, at the Durrës Court in Albania — November 15, 2021
Coinciding With the 38th Court Hearing in Albania, Freedom-Loving Iranians, Supporters of the MEK in Sweden, Staged a Rally in Front of Stockholm Court
Monday, November 15, 2021 — The fourth session of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, began in the city of Durrës, Albania, with the presence of the plaintiffs and witnesses, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), residents of Ashraf 3.
On Monday, November 15, 2021, coinciding with the anniversary of the bloody November 2019 uprising, the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury held for the fourth consecutive session in Durrës, Albania. In this session, MEK member Akbar Samadi testified as a plaintiff against Noury.
Akbar Samadi with other plaintiffs entering Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 15, 2021
The trial of Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre, took place in three days 10-12 November of the last week, and it continues this week on Monday through Thursday, November 15-18, 2021, in Durrës Court, Albania.
This was the 38th trial session of the henchman Hamid Noury one of the executioners of 30,000 political prisoners in the 1988 massacre in Iran’s regime prisons across the country.
Last week, the MEK members and former political prisoners Mohammad Zand, Majid Sahib Jam and Asghar Mehdizadeh appeared in court as plaintiffs and testified about the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison and the role of the executioner Hamid Noury in the massacre.
The trial began at 8 a.m. local time. MEK member Akbar Samadi’s lawyer first introduced him. The prosecutor’s question and answer session then began with Akbar Samadi, and the prosecutor asked Akbar to state his observations of what questioned. Regarding his arrest, Akbar Samadi said that he was arrested in 1981when he was only 14 years old, but before that he had been arrested three times in 1980. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for supporting the Mojahedin. Akbar Samadi said that he was transferred to Gohardasht Prison in May 1986.
On July 30, 1988, around the time the 1988 massacre of political prisoners started, Samadi was in the upper floor of Gohardasht’s Ward 2. The prison guards transferred Samadi and several other prisoners out of the ward and to what later became known as the “Death Corridor.”
Prisoners waited until their turn before the Death Commission, a group tasked with deciding which prisoners would live or be executed. Members of the commission included current regime president Ebrahim Raisi and former justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi.
The Death Commission was acting on the direct orders of regime supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, who had issued a fatwa that stated anyone who continues to support the Iran opposition MEK is an enemy of God and deserves to die.
“All that we heard indicated changes and certain developments in the making. A number of the prisoners had seen Davoud Lashgari and a number of prison guards in the ward’s TV room. They had a wheelbarrow with ropes (nooses),” Samadi said.
In the Death Corridor, Samadi was placed next to a prisoner who had lost his mental stability due to the severe torture. “He wasn’t the only one to have such conditions,” Samadi said, adding he had seen at least four other prisoners who had lost their sanity under torture.
While in the Death Corridor, Samadi heard from one of the prisoners that the executions had also started in Evin prison. “Tell the others that they are executing everyone,” he said.
While in the Death Corridor, Samadi protested to Nasserian, asking why were they being kept in the corridor.
“Be thankful that you’re still breathing. I will personally throw the noose around your neck,” Nasserian told Samadi.
In the Death Corridor, Hamid Noury led prisoners to the Death Commission & the Death Hall. “I was there until late at night. Almost everyone was taken to the Death Hall,” Samadi said. “[Noury] read out 14 names… My name wasn’t on it.” Samadi was taken to incommunicado.
Lashgari took Samadi to the Death Commission. After being asked the same questions, he was sent back. “I witnessed several times Hamid Noury reading out names of prisoners who were to be executed,” Samadi said. “He read names of prisoners & took them to the end of the corridor.”
At the time, Iran’s regime sought to force prisoners into televised interview against the MEK. “As [Nasserian] spoke, I realized this is one of the conditions for execution. My [indirect refusal] angered him. He and Hamid Abbasi wrote down my name.” Samadi: “They lined us up. I squeezed the shoulder of the prisoner who was in front of me as a sign of farewell… We moved and turned toward the Death Corridor that led to the Death Hall. We thought we were being taken for execution.”
In the Death Corridor, Hamid Noury led prisoners to the Death Commission & the Death Hall.
“I was there until late at night. Almost everyone was taken to the Death Hall,” Samadi said. "[Noury] read out 14 names… My name wasn’t on it.”
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 15, 2021
Samadi: “I would clearly see Hamid Abbasi when he was busy reading out names & lining the prisoners up. I have no doubt it was him. On August 3 I saw Hamid Abbasi several times as he was reading out names and those prisoners were taken to the Death Hall.” Samadi: “I was just a few meters away from him. Hamid Abbasi was also busy in the Death Hall. His main task was to read out names and take prisoners to the Death Hall.” Samadi: “On August 6, I saw them bring Nasser Mansouri.” Mansouri was paralyzed from the neck down. “When they brought him to the Death Corridor, I was shocked… I thought they had brought him for administrative procedures, but they took him to the Death Hall.” In February, Samadi was transferred to Evin prison. There, he saw Moghiseh and Noury. “Although I didn’t show myself to them, Noury saw me and said, ‘You slipped through our fingers. You should have been executed,’” Samadi said. Samadi explained that all prison personnel were forced to participate in the executions. “[Noury] read out a list of prisoners & led them into the Death Hall… It is worth noting that on August 6, Nasserian told Davoud Lashgari, ‘Call everyone. We want to start,'” Samadi said. Samadi: “The technical staff, clinic personnel, store managers, all of them went to the Death Hall. Even the members of the Death Commission went to the Death Hall and they all participated in the executions, including Nayyeri, the store manager, and the sentries.”
Akbar Samadi with other plaintiffs in front of the Durrës Court in Albania — Nov 15, 2021
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Stockholm, Sweden, November, 15, 2021— Coinciding with the 38th court hearing in Albania, freedom-Loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) gathered in Front of Stockholm district court.
Supporters of the Iranian resistance declared their solidarity with the martyrs of the November 2019 nationwide uprising. They also stressed to continue of seeking Justice for the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and their families.
Iranians, MEK supporters and relatives of the 1988 massacre martyrs called for the prosecution of the mullahs’ regime leader supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, the executioner of the 1988 massacre, in international courts for crimes against humanity.
At the same time, MEK members in Ashraf 3 held a gathering in memory of the victims of the 1988 massacre and Iran’s 2019 uprising.
During this ceremony, many political prisoners spoke and retold accounts of the atrocities that took place in Iran’s prisons. It is worth noting that hundreds of former political prisoners are now in Ashraf 3, and many of them were prepared to testify in the Stockholm court. Due to limitations in time, only a few were accepted as plaintiffs in the case.
Mohammad Zand, Majid Saheb Jam, and Asghar Mehdizadeh testified against the executioner Hamid Noury, one of the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre.
On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, November 10-12, 2021, three members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) testified in the court of Durrës, Albania.
“You’re the last one”—survivor of Iran’s 1988 massacre testifies in Hamid Noury trial
On Wednesday, November 10, the District Court of Durrës, Albania, convened for the thirty-fifth session of the trial of Hamid Noury, an Iranian prison official charged with torturing inmates in the Gohardasht prison (Karaj) and taking part in the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners. Noury was apprehended by Swedish authorities during a trip to the country. Noury is now standing trial in a court where many of his victims are giving harrowing testimonies of how he and other regime officials brutally tortured prisoners.
The previous sessions of the trial were held in the District Court of Stockholm. For Wednesday’s session, the court was transferred to Durrës, Albania, where members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) residing in Ashraf 3 will testify. In Wednesday’s session, Mohammad Zand, a former political prisoner who spent eleven years in Iran’s prisons, testified on the atrocities that took place in Iran’s brutal prisons. During the 1988 massacre, Zand was in Gohardasht prison.
“They celebrated the executions with sweets”—former political prisoner recalls Iran’s 1988 massacre
On November 11, the District Court of Durrës, Albania, convened for the thirty-sixth session of the trial of Hamid Noury, an Iranian prison official charged with torturing inmates in the Gohardasht prison (Karaj) and taking part in the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners. Noury was apprehended by Swedish authorities during a trip to the country in 2019. Noury is now standing trial in a court where many of his victims are giving harrowing testimonies of how he and other regime officials brutally tortured prisoners.
The previous sessions of the trial were held in the District Court of Stockholm. At the request of the prosecutors, the judge decided to transfer the trial’s location to Albania, where thousands of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) reside. Members of the MEK were the principal target of the 1988 massacre, in which the regime executed more than 30,000 political prisoners.
During Thursday’s session, Majid Saheb Jam, a former political prisoner who spent seventeen years in Iran’s prisons, testified on the atrocities that took place in Iran’s brutal prisons. During the 1988 massacre, Saheb Jam was in Gohardasht prison, and he directly witnessed the role played by Noury and other regime officials in the 1988 massacre.
“The guards punched the hanging bodies”—horrific account of executions in Iran’s Gohardasht prison
On November 12, the District Court of Durrës, Albania, convened for the thirty-seventh session of the trial of Hamid Noury, an Iranian prison official charged with torturing inmates in the Gohardasht prison (Karaj) and taking part in the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners. Noury was apprehended by Swedish authorities during a trip to the country in 2019. Noury is now standing trial in a court where many of his victims are giving harrowing testimonies of how he and other regime officials brutally tortured and executed prisoners. The first 34 sessions of the trial were held in the District Court of Stockholm. At the request of the prosecutors, the judge decided to transfer the trial’s location to Albania, where thousands of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) reside. Members of the MEK were the principal target of the 1988 massacre, in which the regime executed more than 30,000 political prisoners. During Friday’s session, Asghar Mehdizadeh, a former political, testified on the atrocities that took place in Iran’s brutal prisons. Mehdizadeh was arrested in 1982 for supporting the MEK and spent 13 years in various prisons, including Evin and Gohardasht. He is one of the direct witnesses of the 1988 massacre.
The third day of trial of the executioner Hamid Noury execution held in Albania with the testimony of Asghar Mehdizadeh. At the same time, rallies held in Stockholm and Asharf 3.
Coinciding With the 37th Court Hearing in Albania, Freedom-Loving Iranians, Supporters of the MEK in Sweden, Gathered in Front of Stockholm Court
Friday, November 12, 2021 — The third session of the trial of the executioner Hamid Noury, began in the city of Durrës, Albania, with the presence of the plaintiffs and witnesses, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), residents of Ashraf 3.
Durrës Court in Albania
Today’s court hearing is dedicated to the testimony of former political prisoner, MEK member Asghar Mehdizadeh as the plaintiff in the case of Hamid Noury.
Asghar Mehdizadeh (front person) with other plaintiffs entering Durrës Court in Albania — November 12, 2021
The trial of Hamid Noury, one of the executioners of the 1988 massacre, take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, November 10-12, and next week, Monday through Thursday, November 15-18, 2021, in Durrës Court, Albania.
This was the 37th trial session of the henchman Hamid Noury one of the executioners of 30,000 political prisoners in the 1988 massacre in Iran’s regime prisons across the country.
In his testimony, Asghar Mehdizadeh, a former political prisoner who spent 14 years in Iran’s prisons, described on the atrocities that took place in the regime’s horrific prisons. During Iran’s 1988 massacre, Mehdizadeh was in Gohardasht prison.
Mehdizadeh was also a first-hand witness to how Noury, who was one of the senior prison guards in Gohardasht, tormented political prisoners. On one winter day Noury forced a number of young inmates to crawl on the cold ground in the courtyard as a form of punishment. Mehdizadeh recalls seeing five blindfolded prisoners being transferred by Davood Lashgari [Rahmani], a notorious torturer of political prisoners. Those prisoners were never seen again, indicating to the other inmates that they had most likely been executed.
Mehdizadeh says throughout that day he saw 19 or 20 prisoners taken to the warehouse, and that night their corpses were transferred with a vehicle. This sketch resembles the scene inside the warehouse, dubbed the “Hall of Death” by the survivors of Iran’s 1988 massacre. Mahsheed Razaghi, a respected football (soccer) player & member of Iran’s national youth team, was executed during the 1988 massacre. Razaghi was a meli-kesh, the term political prisoners used to refer to inmates who had served their sentences but the regime kept them in prison. The next morning all prisoners were ordered out of their cells & lined up. “When they asked Mohsen Karim Nejad his crime, he said loudly, ‘MEK supporter!’ After that, Hamid Abbasi [Noury] and another guard pulled him out of the line. We never saw him again,” Mehdizadeh said. “When we went out, Noury took us to the ‘Death Corridor,’” Mehdizadeh said.
The hallway known as the Death Corridor was where prisoners were kept until their turn to meet the Death Commission, a group tasked with deciding which prisoners’ fates: life or death. The 1988 Massacre Death Commission included: -current regime president Ebrahim Raisi -former justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi -Hossein-Ali Nayyeri, a religious judge -Morteza Eshraghi, prosecutor of Tehran’s “Revolutionary Court”
The #1988Massacre Death Commission included: -current regime president Ebrahim Raisi -former justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi -Hossein-Ali Nayyeri, a religious judge -Morteza Eshraghi, prosecutor of Tehran's "Revolutionary Court"#Iran#ProsecuteRaisiNOWpic.twitter.com/xzBhywXsjQ
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 12, 2021
The Death Commission, under the direct orders of then supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa, summoned political prisoners one by one and decided their fate in trials that lasted mere minutes. Those loyal to the MEK were immediately executed. “From August 4 to August 8, I was in the Death Corridor,” Mehdizadeh said. “And every day, I witnessed 15 groups of 10-15 prisoners being taken to the ‘Death Hall.’” The Death Hall was a large warehouse where prisoners were gathered for the executions during the 1988 massacre.
“From August 4 to August 8, I was in the Death Corridor,” Mehdizadeh said. “And every day, I witnessed 15 groups of 10-15 prisoners being taken to the ‘Death Hall.’” The Death Hall was a large warehouse where prisoners were gathered for the executions during the #1988Massacre. pic.twitter.com/g3Aum9Gsaw
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 12, 2021
Political prisoner Hadi Mohmmad Nejad told Mehdizadeh he was taken to the Death Hall & asked by prison authorities to cooperate with them. “When I saw the executions, I did not accept the proposal,” Mohammad Nejad told Mehdizadeh. The next morning, Mehdizadeh was taken to the Death Hall entrance & placed next to another prisoner. From under his blindfold, Mehdizadeh watched the guards take three groups into the Death Hall and line up others in the corridor. Mehdizadeh was placed among the next group. “The guard took me into the hall & kept me standing at around 30 meters from the stage. From under my blindfold, I could see the bodies of executed prisoners piled up on each other,” Mehdizadeh said.
In his testimony, Mehdizadeh explains Noury’s direct role in the “Some of the guards punched the hanging bodies and shouted, ‘Death to [the MEK]’” Mehdizadeh said. “As I took in these scenes, I lost my control and balance. After a while I noticed that someone was splashing water on my face.” “Lashgari would summon the prisoners one by one, asking about their charges. Anyone who said ‘MEK supporter’ was handed over to Hamid Abbasi [Noury], who took them to the Death Corridor and the Death Commission in groups of seven or eight,” Mehdizadeh said. “When they were taken to the commission, it didn’t take more than a minute or two, and then they took them to the Death Corridor, where they were handed to Hamid Abbasi. Abbasi took them to the Death Hall in groups of 10 to 12.”
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Stockholm, Sweden, November, 12, 2021— Coinciding with the 37th court hearing in Albania, freedom-Loving Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) gathered in Front of Stockholm district Court.
Supporters of the Iranian resistance declared their solidarity with the martyrs of the November 2019 nationwide uprising. They also stressed to continue of seeking Justice for the martyrs of the 1988 massacre and their families.
Iranians, MEK supporters and relatives of the 1988 massacre martyrs called for the prosecution of the mullahs’ regime leader supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi, the executioner of the 1988 massacre, in international courts for crimes against humanity.
At the same time, MEK members in Ashraf 3 held a gathering in memory of the victims of the 1988 massacre. During this ceremony, many political prisoners spoke and retold accounts of the atrocities that took place in Iran’s prisons. It is worth noting that hundreds of former political prisoners are now in Ashraf 3, and many of them were prepared to testify in the Stockholm court. Due to limitations in time, only a few were accepted as plaintiffs in the case.
