In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Abdolali Bazargan, son of Mehdi Bazargan, a founder of the Iran Freedom Movement and the first Prime Minister of Iran during the transitional government formed after the 1979 revolution, talked about the invalid charge of “establishing the Iran Freedom Movement” against Ebrahim Yazdi. Bazargan told the Campaign that some time ago the Ministry of Intelligence summoned the leaders of the Iran Freedom Movement, intimidated and threatened them, and asked them to announce the dissolution of the organization or face arrest. Bazargan said that whatever is happening to Ebrahim Yazdi is done with the approval of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. “Any claim about lack of knowledge about these atrocities is an excuse which is worse than the crime itself. Basically, in a system where the Vali-e Faghih* holds absolute power, all the country’s affairs end up in one spot. It is impossible for such decisions to be made without his general agreement and green light. Mr. Khamenei wishes to deceive the masses and to present himself as Imam Ali,” he said.

Regarding the reaction of Freedom Movement members to the Intelligence Ministry’s intimidation and threats he said, “Of course they did not accept such coercion, but answered ‘you hold the power, shut down the Movement, there is no need for our announcement.’ Right now, many members of this party are in prison and they have sentenced the leaders and members of the Central Council to long prison terms, which is like a sword hanging over their heads, so that at their smallest activity, [the sentences] are carried out.”

“This is another case of ignorance on the part of our intelligence and judicial organizations, where they don’t even know the background of [ Iran's] well-established parties. The Iran Freedom Movement was established 49 years ago, in 1962. Dr. Yazdi was a young, 30-year-old man at the time who was continuing his specialist education in the United States. Other founding members of this group were Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, Mehdi Bazargan, Mehdi Sahabi, and the names of others is accessible through the Movement’s documents and other books. I am very surprised such an accusation has been raised against him,” Bazargan said about Yazdi being charged with establishing the Freedom Movement.

“Before the Revolution, Mr. Khomeini said something like this about the Shah of Iran: ‘If he knows what crimes are carried out by those under his rule, he is a partner in those crimes. And if he doesn’t know about them, shame on him!’ We could repeat the same thing today about Mr. Khamenei,” said Bazargan.

Previously, Ebrahim Yazdi’s lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, told the Campaign about his conversation with the Judge in Yazdi’s case. “The first issue I raised [with the court] is that his physical conditions are not good, and his fate must be determined sooner, but the Judge said that he had met with Ebrahim Yazdi recently, that he did not seem to have any physical problems and that he was well,” said Dadkhah, emphasizing Yazdi’s advanced age and unsuitable physical conditions.

The Iran Freedom Movement is a political party which was established in 1962 by a group of religious members of the Iran National Front who split off and established the group with an emphasis on Iranian and Islamic identities. The organization’s aim was to fight against despotism and toward achieving fundamental rights based on moral and Islamic values. The group was established by Mehdi Bazargan, Mahmoud Taleghani, Mohammad Rahim Ataee, Yadollah Sahabi, Abbas Radnia, Hassan Nazih, Mansour Ataee, Abbas Samiei, and Ahmad Sadr Haj Seyedjavadi. Mehdi Bazargan was the organization’s first Secretary General and served as its leader until his death in 1995. He was succeeded by Ebrahim Yazdi.  Members of this party held positions in Iran’s interim government, the Revolutionary Council, and the first Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the 1979 revolution.

* The Guardian Jurist who acts as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic