He had been arrested on June 15 at his mother's house in Mashhad, northeast Iran, by the Intelligence Ministry and put under brutal torture. Simultaneously, his mother was arrested and put under pressure and torture to collaborate and take part in a telev ision interview.
Subsequently, in a totally bogus report, the Intelligence Ministry announced on August 11 that Mr. Espahbodi had been killed in a border village near Abadan while trying to leave Iran.
As part of this scheme, the Intelligence Ministry transferred him, originally arrested in Mashhad, to Abadan for execution. Afterwards, his body was handed over to the city's state security forces so that the force could claim Mr. Espahbodi had been kille d while trying to leave the country.
Eyewitnesses in Abadan's coroner's office, however, confirm that Mr. Espahbodi had been shot 12 times at close range and there were absolutely no signs of death due to a clash.
Fearing the spread of the Mojahedin's activities inside Iran and the public's growing support for the Iranian Resistance, the mullahs' anti-human regime has launched a wave of arrests of Mojahedin sympathizers.
In many cases, after the execution of those arrested, the Intelligence Ministry disseminates bogus reports about their deaths while crossing the borders. This is a desperate attempt to thwart the youth from joining the National Liberation Army of Iran, by creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. By so doing, it is also trying to cover up the blows it has received in the past seven months in the course of 294 operations in Iran by the Mojahedin.
The People's Mojahedin of Iran draw the attention of human rights organizations to the continuing arrests and widespread executions in Iran and call for the condemnation of these ruthless crimes by the clerical regime.
Office of the People's Mojahedin of Iran - Baghdad
September 16, 1997
Back Home