I sat down for a conversation with Hamid Nozari, the author of the books “Still a Judge in Berlin” and “The Criminal System,” about the assassinations of opponents of the Islamic Republic outside of the country. The first part of this conversation was published in the previous issue of the monthly magazine “Peace Line,” and the second part is presented below. In the upcoming conversation, I asked him about his research, trials, and the reactions of Western countries to the assassinations.

من می خواهم بهترین دوست تان باشم

I want to be your best friend.
من به دنبال یافتن راهی برای بهبود زندگی خود هستم

I am looking for a way to improve my life.

Why was the Iranian government successful in escaping condemnation in court in Vienna and Paris, but not in Berlin?

In Vienna, it was not possible to hold a trial. According to information later released by the Austrians, the Austrian government attempted to block the investigations of the police and security organization. The trial in Austria was supposed to take place when solid evidence was presented by the police, but the Austrian government allowed the suspects to leave the country, effectively preventing the trial from continuing. The trial for the murder of Mr. Bakhtiar in 1994 was held in Paris, but did not reach its final stage because the court announced that it knew the terrorists were connected to Iranian government officials, but there was no evidence to identify the Iranian government as the mastermind behind the killings.

The story of Mykonos differed for several reasons. First, because information quickly reached German criminal and security officials that identified the location of the killers, information that, according to German authorities, had been obtained from German intelligence sources within the Lebanese Hezbollah party and apparently the Iranian embassy. All the suspects who were arrested were known members of Hezbollah. The statements of Falahian, the arrest of Kazem Darabi, and the information provided by the German domestic security organization and the intelligence agency of a well-known country friendly to Iran indicated that an Iranian intelligence team had directly entered from Tehran for the assassination.

Through monitoring conversations, it was even determined that the code for the operation was “Faryad Bozorg Alavi” and the addition of Abolqasem Mosbah-Shahed -c- showed how the decision-making process in the Special Affairs Committee demonstrated the involvement of both agents and commanders from the Iranian government.

“من عاشق تاریخ هستم”

“I am in love with history.”

“من دوست دارم که با تو باشم”

“I love to be with you.”
متن فارسی به انگلیسی ترجمه کنید:

“من خیلی دوست دارم به کشورهای مختلف سفر کنم و فرهنگ و زبان آنها را بیاموزم.”

“I really love to travel to different countries and learn about their culture and language.”

How many people were assassinated outside the country and how many were convicted for committing the assassination?

There are between ninety to over two hundred people.

“I am learning English”

من در حال یادگیری زبان انگلیسی هستم.

I am learning English.

“من به دنبال آرامش و آرامش دنبال من”

“I am seeking peace and peace is seeking me.”

Were they killed or were they on the assassination list?

They were killed. Regarding the conviction, except for the Mykonos court and a relative conviction in the Bakhtiari murder court, there was no other conviction.

من دوست دارم

I love you.
من به دنبال یافتن عشق واقعی هستم

I am looking for true love.

Was there any other court held besides these two cases?

No, even the court was not held. Many were assassinated, Farokhzad, Mohammadi, Chitsaz, Qasemlou, Oveisi, Boroumand and many others, but no court was held.

“من دوست دارم به تو کمک کنم”

“I love to help you”

“من می‌خواهم که تو را ببینم”

“I want to see you”

What did the judicial systems of Western countries do? Did they close the cases?

“The court documents for presentation are no longer available. Only once a serious issue arose, when the killers of Dr. Kazem Rajavi were arrested in Switzerland a few years later and were supposed to be handed over to Switzerland by France on the night of New Year’s Eve in 1994. However, on that same night, a big deal was made between the Mitran government and Rafsanjani, and instead of being referred to the Swiss police, the killers of Dr. Kazem Rajavi were returned to Iran. If the Mitran government had not made this big mistake, it may have been possible for the case of state terrorism to be closed in Europe for a long time, as we saw that after the Mykonos trial, the Islamic Republic was unable to carry out assassinations in Europe.”

“من دوست دارم که همیشه با تو باشم”

“I love to always be with you.”

“من از تمام قلبم برای تو عشق میورزم”

“I love you with all my heart”

When was the last assassination outside the country?

As far as I know, the assassination of Reza Mazlouman in 1996 took place at the border of Germany and France.

“من دوست دارم به تو کمک کنم”

“I love to help you”

“من به دنبال یافتن راهی برای بهبود زندگی خود هستم”

“I am looking for a way to improve my life.”

Do you think it’s believable that there is no strong reason left for liking assassinations?

Yes, for example, they couldn’t reach anything other than a gun after months of effort to kill Mohammad or there was a lot of pursuit about the slave farmer or Faridoun Farokhzad, but no clues were found. Sometimes the assassinations have been more professional or easier, but sometimes, like the assassination of Kazem Rajavi or Bakhtiar or Qasemlu, there have been a number of serious footprints left behind because carrying out these assassinations was very difficult. Getting close to someone like Qasemlu or Sharafkandi or Bakhtiar was not as easy as getting close to Faridoun Farokhzad or Akbar Mohammad, the former pilot of Rafsanjani who was assassinated in Hamburg. As far as I know, at least in Germany, there was no political pressure to not pursue the legal rights of the assassinations, but there really were no clues that fell into the hands of the judicial authorities or the German police

من به دنبال یک تجربه جدید هستم

I am looking for a new experience.

“من می خواهم بهترین ها را برای شما”

“I want the best for you.”

Many believe that Western countries prioritize national interests and international order in their foreign relations, and only consider human rights as a secondary concern. Is this also the case when it comes to killings?

I’m sorry, there is no Farsi text provided. Please provide the text you would like translated. Thank you.

In some places, yes, in Austria, despite the fact that the Austrian government could have prevented the travel of the officials responsible for the murder of Qasemlou, they did not do so. Political and economic relations or fear of the reaction of the Iranian government caused the Austrian government to turn a blind eye. Regarding the extradition of the killers of Kazem Rajavi, the French government also fell short. It has also been revealed that before the Mykonos incident, numerous reports from German police and security authorities about Iranian terrorist activities had been given to the German government, but this did not stop them from expanding their relations, known as the Critical Dialogue, in 1992. We have reliable information from the former Chief of Staff of the German Chancellor, Mr. Brandt Schmitz, who also testified in court, that in the summer of 1992, when preparations for the Critical Dialogue were underway, the German government was obliged to hold political and precautionary talks with Iran

So the German government knew that terrorist activities were taking place by Iran, and in those months an Iranian assassination team was in Germany responsible for planning the Mykonos assassination. In other words, international and multilateral agreements have never led to the Islamic Republic of Iran distancing itself from assassination and terrorism. We saw that a tough and direct confrontation, the court in Berlin and standing in front of the Iranian government, prevented the continuation of state assassinations. Praising and giving credit to the Iranian government has never caused Iran to stop assassinations and killings of opponents.

“من دوست دارم به سفر بروم”

“I love to go on a trip.”
من دوست دارم

I love you.

Internal assassinations also apparently stopped after the public disclosure.

Some believe this, but many are convinced that even after that, there have been many silent assassinations in Iran. There are many reports of top officials of the Revolutionary Guards or dissatisfied individuals within the regime being eliminated by security forces of the Iranian government, but for now, these remain only as news.

من به دنبال یک ماجراجویی جدید هستم

I am looking for a new adventure.

من به دنبال یک ماشین جدید هستم

I am looking for a new car.

Thank you for your participation in this interview.