19th Conference on the Killing of Political Prisoners
.
The story of the killing of political prisoners in the 1960s, told by witnesses of the People’s Court of Iran Tribunal
.
Thirty-one years have passed since the Islamic Republic regime’s nationwide and bloody offensive against opposition forces in June 1981, which began with the arrest, torture, and mass executions of thousands of freedom, equality, and social justice activists, and culminated in the killing of thousands of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.
In order to confront the awareness and awakening of consciences against this great crime, the Islamic Republic imposed unrestrained repression and censorship on the entire society. In the early months of this massacre, with the aim of creating terror and terror in the society and pushing people away from their humane demands that they had made the revolution to achieve, it broadcast the news of the executions in the state-run press and media. When it became concerned about the emergence of protests in the society, it completely blocked the information channels and tried, with the help of time and the dust that history gradually covers the memories, to erase this horrific crime from the people’s memory and consign it to oblivion.
For twenty-four years, survivors of the 1960s have consistently fought against forgetting and kept the bitter memory of this crime alive by holding memorial programs, gatherings, seminars, exposures, and street protests outside Iran.
Many of the dark corners of this horrific crime have been explored by survivors of the massacres of the 1960s for years. Now, after a long period of sad silence, the families of the victims, through joint activity and disclosure in the Iran Tribunal campaign and sharing their memories, are telling of the suffering, pain, and oppression they suffered in the 1960s. They are talking about the execution of their loved ones by the criminals ruling Iran, about the inhumane treatment and their war and flight with the Islamic Republic, and about the social deprivations the regime has imposed on them. They are talking about the expulsion of children and young people from schools, the expulsion of elders from work, the cutting off of the family’s salary and source of livelihood, and their isolation in society. In the London court, the families are recounting another chapter of the crimes of the 1960s that has never been addressed before. By appearing in this people’s court, they have declared a crime against the regime of the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian Political Prisoners Association (in exile), which has been fighting against forgetfulness in various forms for years and documenting the killings of political prisoners in the 1960s, has dedicated its 19th gathering of leaders to retell the untold stories of the crimes of the 1960s by witnesses of the first phase of the Iran Tribunal and to screen the film of the trial.
Programs for the 24th anniversary:
Stockholm
1- A short quarterly about the killing of political prisoners in the 1960s
2- Speech and Poetry, writer and poet in exile and political prisoner of two regimes, Hassan Hessam
3- Screening of the film “The London Court”
4- Roundtable examining the social, political, and psychological impact of the London trial with the presence of a number of witnesses to the trial, Roya Ashraf Abadi , Roya Rezaei Jahromi, Madar Esmat, Gita Rostam Alipour and Hedeya Shamsi hosted by Bahram Rahmani.
5- Music by exiled protest artist Gisso Shakeri
Time: September 22, 2012, 6 p.m.
Location: Tenesta Turf meeting hall Tensta Träff
Sydney
1- A short quarterly about the killing of political prisoners in the 1960s
2- Screening of the film “The London Court”
3- Poetry and music
Time: September 1, 2012, 7:00 PM
Location: 7 Victor Street Chatswood New South Wales 2067
Iranian Political Prisoners Association (in exile)
September 1, 1391 equals August 22, 2012
www.kanoon-zendanian.org