Mohammad Mokhtari

Who was Mohammad Mokhtari?

Mohammad Mokhtari was an Iranian 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.