10/11/2021 – The trial of Hamid Nouri, one of the main perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political poisoners in Iran, has relocated to Albania for 2 weeks to hear the testimonies of several Iranian dissidents.
Since the start of the court’s proceedings in Sweden, a number of the dissidents in Albania had given their testimonies via webcam, however, the court decided to relocate to Albania to hear the remaining testimonies of the witnesses and plaintiffs. Many of the lawyers and the judge have gone to Albania to continue the court’s proceedings, however, Noury has remained in Sweden. The court will hear from 7 plaintiffs in total in Albania.
Mon 10th Nov– The first plaintiff, Mr Mohammad Zand, took to the stand and gave his testimony. Mohammad Zand was arrested in 1981 and spent 11 years in prison. His brother, Reza Zand, was executed during the 1988 massacre. In parts of his testimony, he claimed that the regime was taking steps to plan this massacre of political prisoners in the early months of 1988, before beginning mass executions later in the summer of that year.
“On July 28, 1988, the prison authorities stopped giving us newspapers,” Mohammad Reza Zand said. According to him, when Zand and several other prisoners objected to this decision, they were beaten.
“A prison guard, Davood, who was trained in martial arts, kicked me in the foot and broke my toe. They continued beating us for an hour.”
“On Friday, July 29, they turned off the TV and banned any open airtime. My brother, Reza Zand, was walking with Mahmoud Royayie and said this has gone far beyond ordinary harassment. We need to protest,” he added.
Reza Zand was 21 years old and a college student studying technology. He was arrested in September of 1981 along with his friend, Parvis Sharifi. Both were executed during the 1988 massacre.
We will bring you more updates on this case as it progresses.