IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 188 

Condemning the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 1988 

massacre of political prisoners and calling for justice for the victims. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2017 

Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mr. ROYCE of California, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. KEATING, Mr. SHERMAN, 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Ms. JUDY CHU of California) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran 

for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and calling 

for justice for the victims. 

Whereas over a 4-month period in 1988, the Government of 

the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out the barbaric 

mass executions of thousands of political prisoners and 

many unrelated political groups; 

Whereas according to a report by the Iran Human Rights 

Documentation Center, the massacre was carried out 

pursuant to a fatwa, or religious decree, issued by thenSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that targeted the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), also 

known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK); 


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•HRES 188 IH 

Whereas according to a November 2, 2007, report by Amnesty International, ‘‘between 27 July 1988 and the end 

of that year, thousands of political prisoners [in Iran], including prisoners of conscience, were executed in prisons 

nationwide’’; 

Whereas the killings were carried out on the orders of a 

judge, an official from the Ministry of Intelligence, and 

a state prosecutor, known to the prisoners as ‘‘Death 

Commissions’’ which undertook proceedings in a manner 

designed to eliminate the regime’s opponents; 

Whereas those personally responsible for these mass executions include senior officials serving in the current Government of Iran; 

Whereas prisoners were reportedly brought before the commissions and briefly questioned about their political affiliation, and any prisoner who refused to renounce his or 

her affiliation with groups perceived as enemies by the 

regime was then taken away for execution; 

Whereas the victims included thousands of people, including 

teenagers and pregnant women, imprisoned merely for 

participating in peaceful street protests and for possessing political reading material, many of whom had already served or were currently serving prison sentences; 

Whereas prisoners were executed in groups, some in mass 

hangings and others by firing squad, with their bodies 

disposed of in mass graves; 

Whereas according to Amnesty International, ‘‘the majority 

of those killed were supporters of the PMOI, but hundreds of members and supporters of other political 

groups . . . were also among the execution victims’’; 


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•HRES 188 IH 

Whereas later waves of executions targeted religious minorities, such as members of the Baha’i faith, many of whom 

were often subjected to brutal torture before they were 

killed; 

Whereas the families of the executed were denied information 

about their loved ones and were prohibited from mourning them in public; 

Whereas in a recently disclosed audiotape, the late Hussein 

Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah who served as Khomeini’s chief deputy, noted the regime’s efforts to target 

the MEK and said that the 1988 mass killings were ‘‘the 

greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, 

for which history will condemn us’’; 

Whereas the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly aware of, and later publicly condoned the massacre; 

Whereas in violation of its international obligations, the Government of Iran continues to systematically perpetrate 

gross violations of the fundamental human rights of the 

Iranian people; and 

Whereas the November 2, 2007, report from Amnesty International concluded ‘‘there should be no impunity for 

human rights violations, no matter where or when they 

took place. The 1988 executions should be subject to an 

independent impartial investigation, and all those responsible should be brought to justice, and receive appropriate 

penalties’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of the Islamic 

3 Republic of Iran for the 1988 massacre, and for deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Mar 10, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR188.IH HR188

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•HRES 188 IH 

1 nying the evidence of this manifest set of crimes 

2 against humanity; 

3 (2) urges the Administration and United States 

4 allies to publicly condemn the massacre, and pres5 sure the Government of Iran to provide detailed in6 formation to the families of the victims about their 

7 loved ones and their final resting places; and 

8 (3) urges the United Nations Special Rappor9 teur on the human rights situation in Iran and the 

10 United Nations Human Rights Council to create a 

11 Commission of Inquiry to fully investigate the mas12 sacre and to gather evidence and identify the names 

13 and roles of specific perpetrators with a view to14 wards bringing them to justice. 

Æ 


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