Iranian leader oversaw brutal mass executions with guards told to 'kill them quickly'

A survivor told Amnesty that he saw many bodies strewn on the floor in a section of the prison where there were 12 chairs with 12 ropes hanging over them in Iran A Swedish court sentenced Hamid Noury, head of the Iranian regime's prison, to life imprisonment (

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A former Iranian official was sentenced to life imprisonment for participating in the brutal execution of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s.

In an unprecedented verdict, Hamid Noury, arrested at a Stockholm airport in 2019, was charged with war crimes for the mass execution and torture of prisoners in Iran in 1988.

This is the first time that a member of the Iranian regime has been found guilty of human rights violations.

Noury, 61, was accused of working as an assistant deputy prosecutor at Gohardasht prison in Karaj, Tehran and colluded with those directly involved in the murders.

Although it is said that he did not kill any prisoners directly, Nouri played a crucial role in issuing death sentences, supervising mass executions, bringing prisoners to the execution chamber and helping prosecutors collect the names of prisoners.

A man is brought to the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern Iranian city of Noor (

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AFP via Getty Images)

In a landmark trial, Noury, who had denied the charges, is the only person to date to face court for atrocities committed between July and early September 1988.

Thousands of political dissidents were systematically subjected to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

Many of those killed were subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

A survivor told Amnesty that he saw many bodies strewn across the floor in a section of the prison where there were 12 chairs with 12 ropes hanging over them.

He said, "The guards were busy bringing the prisoners back quickly and putting nooses around their necks."