Iran. A series of mass executions of political prisoners is ordered and carried out. The supreme order comes from Ayatollah Khomeini, and they are carried out by Iranian officials throughout Iran, beginning on July 19, 1988, and continuing for approximately five months. The killings took place in at least 32 cities across the country, and estimates of the number of people killed range from 2,500 to 30,000, many of whom were also subjected to torture. Hussein-Ali Montazeri later names Raisi (the future president of Iran) as one of four people involved in the executions of Iranian political prisoners in 1988. Others include Morteza Eshraghi (Tehran prosecutor), Hossein-Ali Nayeri (judge), and Mostafa Pourmohammadi (MOI representative in Evin). The names of the first two are mentioned in Khomeini’s order. Because of this prosecutor’s committee’s involvement in thousands of executions, it has been informally called the “death committee.” Its role has earned Raisi the reputation of “the hanging judge” and the nickname “the butcher of Tehran.” Raisi will die in a helicopter crash on May 19, 2024.
