Every year, on June 26th, the world observes the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, underscoring a global commitment to condemn and eradicate this barbaric practice.
This solemn day serves as a poignant reminder of the suffering inflicted upon individuals subjected to torture, emphasizing their rights to justice and rehabilitation and the need to bring perpetrators to justice.
Against this backdrop of international condemnation, recent legal proceedings in Iran have drawn the public attention to the egregious actions of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a terrorist group known for its brutal campaigns against civilians. Notorious among these acts was the “Engineering Operations,” which struck fear into the hearts of Tehran’s populace, illustrating the group’s ruthless methods.
Currently facing trial in Iran, the MEK stands accused of orchestrating these heinous crimes. The 13th court session, originally convened to address these charges, highlights the broader issue of torture as an affront to human dignity and a violation of international law.
On August 8, 1982 (17th of Mordad, 1361), MEK members received orders to abduct individuals under suspicion of involvement with their compromised safe houses. After the abductions, these individuals were taken to designated locations. The MEK elements bound the captives’ hands and feet, subjecting them to arbitrary beatings with cables on their feet and bodies, causing severe bruising. The wounds were hastily bandaged, only to be reopened as the torture was repeated. The victims often lost consciousness under the relentless torture sessions.
Despite realizing the wrongful abduction and the captives’ lack of any useful intelligence, the torturers persisted in their brutal methods. Forensic medical reports confirmed burn marks from boiling water on the victims’ heads and faces. Additionally, lacerations inflicted with sharp objects were documented all over their bodies. In their confessions, members of the MEK admitted to stabbing victims with knives in non-vital areas to avoid excessive bleeding. The perpetrators escalated their violence by burning one of the victims with an iron and repeatedly slashing another victim’s arm with a knife, tearing muscle tissues and causing deep wounds.
This account vividly illustrates the barbarity and the inhumanity inflicted upon the victims during the “Engineering Operation,” showcasing the MEK’s ruthless disregard for human life and dignity.
During the Operation, the MEK systematically mutilated their victims, cutting their scalp, ears, and noses with knives, and even gouging out their eyes. Forensic medical reports confirmed the presence of heavy metal objects (likely lead pipes) inflicted on the victims’ head and jaw. The torturers of the MEK confessed to pulling out the teeth of one victim using pliers and inserting a metal skewer, heated with a red-hot poker, into the victim’s thigh and body.
Eventually, the cruelty reached its peak when the MEK administered cyanide to victims who were still alive, followed by their burial.
While Operation targeted civilians who did not adhere to the MEK, the group also inflicted severe torture on its own members and supporters, as revealed during the group’s thirteenth trial session in the Iranian court. A former member positioned as a witness testified about the brutalities and tortures that the MEK sanctioned against its own members and sympathizers.
During a period when suspicions arose about me within the group, “they imprisoned me. In the prison, they hanged me upside down, threw food on the ground, and drilled a hole in my tooth, inserting a wire into it,” recounted the former member.
Acts of violence such as torture, due to their inhumanity and violation of human principles, were brought before international bodies as early as 1899. These actions were prohibited under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. Over time, supplementary laws were added, and legal scholars increasingly recognized the anti-humanitarian effects of torture, leading to its universal prohibition. Key prohibitive laws include Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Protocols of 1977. Additionally, the European and American Conventions on Human Rights condemned torture under Articles 3 and 5(2), respectively. Between 1973 and 1976, the United Nations General Assembly issued five resolutions unanimously, culminating in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This convention solidified the foundation for prohibiting torture globally.
Article 1 of the Convention defines torture as:
“Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. Torture does not include pain or suffering arising only from lawful sanctions or inherent or incidental to lawful sanctions”
Furthermore, Article 2 of the Convention obligates states to take necessary measures to prevent acts of severe violence and torture within their jurisdiction. Article 4 of the Convention criminalizes torture and requires states to prosecute perpetrators.
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, under Article 38, explicitly states: “All forms of torture to obtain confessions or information are prohibited; forcing a person to testify, confess, or swear is not permissible, and such testimony, confession, or oath is devoid of value and credibility.”
Ensuring the enforcement of Article 38, Article 578 of the Islamic Penal Code stipulates: “Any official, judicial or non-judicial, who physically abuses and harasses a suspect to force a confession, in addition to qisas (retaliation) or payment of diya (blood money), shall be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to three years. If the victim dies due to torture, the actual perpetrator will face the punishment for murder, and the commanding officer will be sentenced for ordering the murder.”
It is evident that the crime of torture primarily pertains to officials whose aim is to extract information or confessions, as specified in the Convention. However, in cases of abduction by criminal syndicates, where severe violence is observed, the purpose is not to obtain confessions or information but rather to coerce negotiation and demonstrate seriousness in their statements.
The MEK terrorist group has repeatedly engaged in severe acts of violence and torture against Iranian and Iraqi citizens to obtain information and confessions. Torture, categorized among crimes against humanity, is universally condemned and considered reprehensible by all members of the global community. Perpetrators of such acts can be deemed enemies of all nations. Therefore, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, any state has the right to pursue, prosecute, and punish such criminals. Given the egregious nature of their actions, MEK members involved in torture and violence may face international accountability for their crimes.
**The article has been supplied to the IRNA by the Habilian Association, a human rights NGO that represent the Iranian families of terror victims
