Iranian diaspora held a major demonstration in Stockholm on July 16, following the convicting of an executioner. A day earlier, the Swedish court sentenced Hamid Noury to life imprisonment. The court found Noury guilty of being involved in the mass killing of political prisoners in 1988.

Iranian authorities enjoyed impunity for the extrajudicial executions for 34 years. According to regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini, judiciary and prison officials sentenced political prisoners to death in kangaroo courts. Khomeini issued a fatwa, clearly targeting affiliates with the opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI).

According to survivors, victims’ families, cemetery officials, and other sources, more than 30,000 political prisoners were forcibly disappeared. Most of the victims were MEK members and supporters.

The Swedish court sentenced Noury following 92 sessions in Stockholm and Durrës, an Albanian coastal city. Seven MEK members who survived the massacre testified at the court. Their testimonies significantly shed light on Noury’s role and what happened in the regime’s dungeons.

In a message to the rally, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), saluted demonstrators, congratulating the mourning families of the 1988 massacre victims.

“You stay your ground against whoever wants to trample upon the blood of PMOI martyrs and the movement seeking justice for them to the benefit of the clerical regime,” she said. “Indeed, what you did over the past year is yet another roaring epic.”

“I reiterated that we would not relent until we pour the poison chalice of human rights down the throat of religious fascism just as we forced the regime to drink the poison chalice of ceasefire during the Iran-Iraq war in 1988,” Mrs. Rajavi emphasized. “Full justice will be only done when all the masterminds and perpetrators are prosecuted in the Iranian people’s courts. That includes Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein-Ali Nayeri, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, and others.”

Several Swedish MPs joined the Iranians at the demonstration, declaring their support for the court’s ruling. Meanwhile, several European personalities, NCRI members, and the MEK plaintiffs’ lawyer gave speeches.

“Many Iranians have come to voice their protest against the regime in Iran, which spreads terror and fear and suppresses its population,” said Swedish MP Kjell Arne Ottosson. “The number of executions has increased in Iran, and that is why you’re here today to show your protest. In the Swedish Parliament, we support your cause for a free and democratic Iran.”

“I want to voice my support for what you’re doing for a free Iran. As a democrat, it is important for me to show my support for human rights,” said Swedish MP Ingemar Kihlström. “It doesn’t matter where you live in the world. Iran’s regime doesn’t respect human rights.”

“This is a victory for justice and truth against opportunistic policies. I want to congratulate all of you freedom fighters; I want to congratulate the extraordinary team of lawyers led by Kenneth Lewis that presented to the court undeniable evidence,” said Former European Parliament VP Alejo Vidal-Quadras. “I also want to congratulate Maryam Rajavi for her wise and brave leadership that took us through this trial.”

“Noury’s lawyers have declared that they will appeal the verdict, a privilege that his victims did not have,” said MEK witnesses’ lawyer Kenneth Lewis. “The massacre in 1988, in fact, represents genocide, not only against the PMOI but also against the leftists. We should never forget the martyrs who were killed in this massacre, and even less should we ever forgive.”

“Our enemies wanted to portray an image as if the 1988 massacre victims did not know they were going to be executed. But many facts became evident,” said NCRI deputy secretary Abolqassem Rezaei. “There are many fronts, but we will fight in every one of them, and they all lead to the freedom of our country.”

“This is just the beginning. We will bring this regime, and all its officials, to court. Time does not erase crimes against humanity and genocide. We will bring this regime to a Nuremberg-style court very soon,” said NCRI Rep. in Nordic countries Parviz Khazaei. “At the same time, what is happening in Belgium is a shameful show of appeasement to give in to the hostage-taking policy of the regime. We will stand in front of all Belgian embassies every day.”

“The verdict of the Swedish court in the conviction of Hamid Noury means the conviction of the entirety of the mullahs’ regime. It is a very strong document to try other criminal leaders of the mullahs’ regime, especially Raisi. It is a victory for the Justice Seeking movement. Raisi’s hands are tainted with the blood of Iran’s children. He has executed many Iranians,” Khebat Organization Secretary-General Kak Baba Sheikh Hosseini sent a message.