It is appropriate to evaluate individuals’ perspectives on a subject in different profiles and time frames. Regarding Ayatollah Montazeri’s views, there are significant differences between the time of drafting the constitution, when he was the deputy leader, and the time when his positions led to his dismissal from the deputy leadership, until the last days of his life.

Mr. Montazeri, before the revolution, went to prison for defending freedoms and fighting against oppression; after the revolution, in the first year of the revolution, he took positions that could be said to be in line with the system and for this reason, he became the deputy leader. Mr. Montazeri’s belief in the theory of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist), if it was not more than Mr. Khomeini’s, it was not less. It is possible that Mr. Khomeini may have deceived some people about the powers of the Supreme Leader, but in any case, when we have a realistic look at his verbal positions, Mr. Montazeri believes in much more extensive and broader powers for the Supreme Leader. An example of this is during the drafting of Article 110 of the Constitution, which determines and amends the powers of the leader; many of the individuals who were in the Assembly for drafting the Constitution

They have gradually become familiar with the system since 1985-1986 and finally in 1988, they express their disgust with some actions, the most important of which are executions. This angle can be seen in the letters exchanged between Mr. Khomeini and Montazeri, which were later published. There is even a written argument between them, and Mr. Khomeini writes to Mr. Montazeri: “I have heard that you consider me worse than the Shah” and Mr. Montazeri responds: “I did not say you are worse than the Shah, but your Ministry of Intelligence has also whitewashed the Shah’s Savak.”

Such positions show that as we approach the end of Mr. Khomeini’s life and the time of Mr. Montazeri’s dismissal from his deputy position, Mr. Montazeri’s insistence on defending the principles of human rights increases. And even if we don’t say that Ayatollah Khomeini has acted worse in this regard, at least he insists on his previous stance and has always prioritized preserving the system; even if it results in the death of four thousand people.

Mr. Montazeri’s objection to executions and torture took place at a time when, I do not believe there was any official in the Islamic Republic who did not know that prisoners were being tortured. And of course, we were witnesses to the fact that no one else protested. Although it is possible that some individuals were not directly involved in these matters, we cannot claim that none of us were aware of these issues. Furthermore, the assumption that Ayatollah Khomeini was unaware of these widespread human rights violations in prisons is impossible. As mentioned, Mr. Montazeri’s explicit stance against torture and widespread human rights abuses and Ayatollah Khomeini’s strong and angry reaction to it reveals the clear difference in positions during this period of time.

After the start of Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership, Mr. Montazeri had more transparent and courageous interactions. For example, he arranged meetings and close relationships with members of the Freedom Movement, National Front, and other groups that were initially opposed to the revolution. However, in the last two to three years when he was acting as the deputy leader, he had some back and forth interactions and defended their rights, but Mr. Montazeri’s explicit stance towards individuals who were perceived as dissenters or non-conformists, generally relates to the period after his dismissal from the deputy leadership. In a letter addressed to him by Ayatollah Khomeini on April 6, 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini protests Mr. Montazeri’s “communication with opponents of the revolution.”

It must be acknowledged that belief in human rights is not only about opposing torture and execution; when you give someone – whether it be a king or a supreme leader – extensive and unaccountable powers, you have violated human rights and in fact, the deficiency of human rights begins when one person has complete authority and no one can question them; otherwise, in the nature of all of us, if there is no supervision, there is corruption, injustice, selfishness, hatred, and tyranny. When someone hides secrets and says that we must consider extensive powers for the supreme leader, this in itself is a deficiency of human rights.

As someone who looks at events after the revolution today and after thirty-some years, I believe that Mr. Montazeri truly had admirable positions towards Mr. Khomeini in the last 10 or even 20 years of his life, but before that I do not see a significant difference in their viewpoints. It seems that since the time when Mr. Montazeri himself was subjected to human rights violations and the issue of Mehdi Hashemi arose, he took more serious and explicit positions, and before that he did not seem to have a noteworthy stance on the matter. However, he did sometimes express opposition, but his first serious stance began when his own associates were also subjected to the oppression of the Islamic Republic regime.