The Supreme Leader, Soraya M., George Bush, and Abu Gharib
...in an e-mail response to someone in this (here) team... I wrote...

Thank you for taking your time to give a detailed response to my email. My impression from this email is that you have probably been born and/or raised in the West and your idea of Iran is a place where you look to as you soul search to find your roots and identity. I hope this email can shed some light on the true nature of the Iranian regime and human right abuses in Iran.


One warm summer day in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini who at the time was the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic wrote a letter to three of his confidants (the so-called committee of three) ordering them to "clean up" the Iranian prisons as the war between Iran and Iraq was drawing to an end. In plain words, Khomeini left it to the discretion of the three clerics to order the execution of any political prisoner who was not "converted". The committee ordered execution of prisoners based on their answers to a couple of questions such as whether the person did his/her daily prayers or whether they still believed in their cause. Meat trucks carried the bodies of the executed prisoners at dawn to a place that was later named "the cursed-land" by regime thugs. The bodies of the executed prisoners were buried in mass graves in the "cursed-land". Thousands are believed to have been executed in this way. Many of those prisoners had done their sentences and were awaiting release.

It is not clear how many people have been stoned to death in Iran because the regime is particularly tight lipped about this style of execution. The number is large, at least tens, and according to some accounts, the regime judiciary has ordered and carried out the stoning of more than 1000 people. The "crimes" that justify this cruel and barbaric punishment under the regime's "justice" code range from acting in home-made porno movies to accusation of adultery. Soraya M. whose hours before stoning has been portrayed in a book entitled "The Stoning of Soraya M." was accused of adultery because she was cooking for a male family friend. The punishment is carried out by first giving the inmate a "dead wash" (ghosl-e-meyet) in early morning hours before being taken him/her to the killing field where he/she is buried up to the neck/chest. The size of stones is DELIBERATELY chosen in such a way that they don't kill the inmate immediately but rather prolong the suffering for at least 15 minutes, delivering an excruciating death. It is very common that the condemned is alive and aware when their eyes pop out as the mob is carrying out the execution. Stoning is typically overseen by the ordering cleric. Stoning is not a cultural thing (as you imply in your email) as it is a punishment sanctioned specifically by regime's "justice" code. Nazism had also its roots in the German culture and philosophy. This hardly justifies Nazis' crimes.



Atefeh was only 16 years old when she was arrested because of immoral acts. According to some accounts, she had an affair with some members of the moral police and they asked for her execution to preserve their "honor" and "reputation". During the hearings, Atefeh became momentarily upset and took off her clothes in protest. Shortly after, her execution was ordered and carried out personally by the mullah judge in public. Even the executioner refused to carry out the sentence and plead for reversal.



Several years ago a woman was accused of looking at nude males. Her blinding was ordered by a mullah judge.



The wrists and fingers of people accused of theft are cut IN PUBLIC.



Hundreds of people are executed by hanging IN PUBLIC every year.



In 2005, a cleric shot and killed a young man in broad daylight in Tehran-Karaj metro. The young man was apparently "hitting on" a girl in the metro. According to regime's laws, clerics can be tried only by a special tribunal, which of and by its own is a clear example of an apartheid judicial system. The cleric was later acquitted and released.



Hundreds of dissidents were killed in exile by regime's agents. The preferred method of killing was slashing throats. Some of these dissidents were lured to meeting with regime's agents by the promise of finding a peaceful political settlement. In 1997, a German court named regimes' top leaders in ordering the assassination of several Kurdish dissidents in Mykonos restaurant in Germany.



In addition to all these human right abuses, the regime has brought economic misery on a massive scale to the Iranian population. Nearly half of Iranians live under the poverty line. It is estimated that one in every 18 Iranians is addicted to illicit drugs. Scores of young Iranian women are sold in Pakistan and the Persian Gulf states as sex slaves. Despite its oil riches, Iran imports nearly 40% of its gasoline domestic consumption.



As for George Bush ordering the war: no doubt that Abu Gharib is a clear example of war crimes. But do you know how many of the 50,000 Iraqis you mention have been killed at the hands of Iraqis in the wave of ethnic violence, car bombings, mosque bombings, etc.? How come that you so bravely attribute stoning to Iranian culture and religion but see Bush as the culprit in killings that in a major part are caused by ethnic rifts in the Iraqi society.