Mohammad Mokhtari
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Mokhtari (April 21, 1942 - December 1998) was an Iran
ian writer who was murdered on the outskirts of Tehran
in the course of the Chain Murders of Iran
. He left his residence at five o'clock in the afternoon of December 2 1998, reportedly to buy light bulbs on Jordan Boulevard in north Tehran. His body was identified at the coroner's office on December 8 1998, he had died of suffocation. His murder came a few days after that of another writer, translator Majid Sharif
. He was interrogated and threatened by Intelligence Ministry a few times to stop working at Kanun-e Nevisandegan.
His murder was initially blamed on a foreign "network". Later, blame was placed upon "rogue elements" in the intelligence ministry
..
He was a political prisoner for a few years after the Islamic Revolution of Iran. He served at bonyad-e-shahname before 1979.
Mokhtari was a member of a group of writers who helped to re-establish the writers association, Kanun-e Nevisandegan. In 1994, he had signed a manifesto demanding freedom of speech
.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian writer who was murdered on the outskirts of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
in the course of the Chain Murders of Iran
Chain murders of Iran
The Chain Murders of Iran , or Serial Murders, were a series of murders and disappearances from 1988-1998 by Iranian government operatives of Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system in some way.The victims included more than 80 writers, translators,...
. He left his residence at five o'clock in the afternoon of December 2 1998, reportedly to buy light bulbs on Jordan Boulevard in north Tehran. His body was identified at the coroner's office on December 8 1998, he had died of suffocation. His murder came a few days after that of another writer, translator Majid Sharif
Majid Sharif
Majid Sharif was an Iranian translator and journalist who was one of the victims of the Chain murders of Iran. He was a follower of the late Islamist modernist leftist theoretician Ali Shariati...
. He was interrogated and threatened by Intelligence Ministry a few times to stop working at Kanun-e Nevisandegan.
His murder was initially blamed on a foreign "network". Later, blame was placed upon "rogue elements" in the intelligence ministry
Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)
The Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the secret police and primary intelligence agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran...
..
He was a political prisoner for a few years after the Islamic Revolution of Iran. He served at bonyad-e-shahname before 1979.
Mokhtari was a member of a group of writers who helped to re-establish the writers association, Kanun-e Nevisandegan. In 1994, he had signed a manifesto demanding freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
.