1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners

A series of many executions of political prisoners ordered by Ayatollah Khomeini and carried out by Iranian officials took place across Iran. They began on 19 July 1988 and kept on going for another five months. Many of the prisoners were also tortured. The killings took place in at least 32 cities across the country.

The killings were done without any legislative basis and no trails were held to see if the alleged prisoners were innocent or guilty. The killings were largely kept a secret, and the government of Iran still denies that this ever happened.  

The exact number of those killed is unknown. Some human rights organizations say up to 5,000 people killed. Human Rights Watch puts the estimate at between 2,800 to 5,000 people killed, while Amnesty International says at least 5,000 killed.

References

Category:1988
Category:20th century in Iran