Statement
Washington, DC; September 5, 2016 – This week, the United States Congress reconvenes just as Iranian-Americans commemorate anniversary of the 1988 massacre of some 30,000 political prisoners in the hands of Iran’s clerical rulers. Organization of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC-US) will sponsor a 4-day photo exhibition in the United States House of Representatives to underscore this crime against humanity; ordered and committed by past & present Iranian government officials.
The photo exhibition will feature images from multiple known mass gravesites, the tragic details therein, and chronicles the facts for the general public, members of Congress, their staff, and the media.
This year’s event bears particular significance following the recent release of an audio recording in which the now deceased Grand Ayatollah Ali Montazeri chastises members of the “death commission” for carrying out the massacres. The Washington Post, in its August 12, 2016 report aptly summarizes the content of the recording:
““In my opinion, the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you,” Montazeri is recorded as saying on the July 1988 tape to a group of senior judicial and intelligence figures, including a domestic spymaster, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who now serves as justice minister in the government of President Hassan Rouhani.””
OIAC-US calls on the United Nations and relevant U.S. agencies to collaborate, verify, and refer this dossier to the U.N. Security Council. We also applaud U.S. Congress for its efforts to hold past and present Iranian government officials accountable for their role in this well-documented case of crime against humanity.
WHAT: Iran: 1988 Massacre Photo Exhibition
WHEN: September, 6th, 12th, 13th,
TIME: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
WHRE: House Rayburn Foyer (Capitol Hill), Washington, DC
