Amnesty International to the Islamic Republic of Iran: Stop the destruction of Khavaran and allow Baha'is to be buried with dignity

In a report, Amnesty International protested the acts of destruction in the Khavaran Cemetery and the disrespect shown to the burial of Baha'is, and called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop this practice.

“This is the latest in a series of criminal attempts by the Iranian authorities in recent years to destroy the burial sites of victims of the 1988 massacres in an attempt to get rid of important documents and evidence of crimes against humanity, deny truth, justice, and redress for the families of those who were forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily executed in secret,” said Diana Al-Tahawi, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Center, in the report, published on Thursday, May 29.

He added: "In addition to increasing the suffering of the persecuted and persecuted Baha'i minority by depriving Baha'is of the right to bury their loved ones in a respectful manner and in accordance with their beliefs, the Iranian authorities are also deliberately destroying the scene of the crime."

Previously, some families and relatives of those killed in the summer of 1988 had reported that at least 10 new graves had been dug at the site of their loved ones' mass cemetery in Khavaran, Tehran.

Khavaran Cemetery in southeast Tehran is a place that, according to the families of the victims of the summer of 1988, is the mass burial site. They commemorate their loved ones here every year.

On Friday, May 23, some families of the victims of the 2018 executions published several photos on social media showing that at least 10 new graves had been dug on the outskirts of these mass graves.

Source: Voice of America