voice of iran**In an open letter published on Monday, 7 November 2016, twelve political prisoners in Gohar-Dasht Prison in Karaj City, West of Tehran, supported Maryam Akbari-Monfared’s appeal for justice in the 1988 killings in Iranian jails and condemned the pressures imposed on her due to this appeal.

Maryam Akbari-Monfared is a political prisoner in Evin Prison of Tehran who has lost a sister and a brother in the 1988 massacre in Iran. Her other two brothers were also executed in the early 80s. She is the first person to file an official complaint against the perpetrators of the mass killings in Iran in the 80s to call for justice on her siblings’ massacre. As a result, she was denied her right to have meeting with her husband and children and she has been prevented from having access to medical treatment in prison.

Text of the open letter of the 12 political prisoners

Cruel reaction of the Iranian regime to the innocent appeal of justice by political prisoner, Maryam Akbari-Monfared

We were informed last Wednesday during meeting with our relatives that meetings of Maryam Akbari-Monfared, a political prisoner, has been banned. Her 3 brothers and one sister were executed in the 80s, two of them during the 1988 massacre.

Now, her appeal for justice and the written words coming out of her heart is taken by the regime as a crime. In fear of her letters, the corrupt regime of Iran is resorting to psychological pressure and intimidation against her and at the order of its high-ranking authorities, it has banned Maryam’s calls and meetings with her husband and children until further notice.

Through this behavior, the regime is imposing pain and psychological torture on her husband and her very young children. Besides, her family has been told: “Those who carried out the executions have died. Why are you doing all this to discredit Islam?!” This is while we all know that members of the “Death committee” are shamelessly holding key positions and continuing their crimes.

The 1988 killings are registered under the name of the Velayat-e-Faqih regime as well as its founder and top authorities whether the perpetrators are dead or alive; it is a historical disgrace to this regime and will remain under its name; the perpetrators should wait for their trial and punishment to come.

We, the undersigned political prisoners in the Ward 4 of Hall number 12 in Gohar-Dasht Prison, declare our support for and solidarity with Maryam Akbari-Monfared and back the justice-seeking movement of all the families of the massacre in summer 1988. We also draw the attention of the international human rights authorities particularly Ms Asma Jahangir, the current Special Rapeurter on Human Rights in Iran, to the pressures imposed on these families.

Signitaries in Gohar-Dasht Prison of Karaj City:

1. Reza Akbari-Monfared
2.  Said Shirzad
3.  Mohammad-Ali Mansouri
4.  Behnam Mousivand
5.  Saleh Kohandel
6.  Said Masouri
7.  Khaled Hardani
8.  Javad Fooladvand
9.  Hassan Sadeghi
10.  Shahin Zoghi-Tabar
11.  Ali Moezi
12.  Mehdi Farahi-Shandiz