Rouhollah Khomeini

Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, and those knowingly involved in publishing it. The pronouncement triggered threats and remains a central issue in debates over free expression and political violence.

State of the evidence

The fatwa’s wording and date are recorded in historical sources.

Legal status — source text

No established personal criminal conviction concerning this event.

Attribution

Public call for the killing of a writer and publishing personnel.

The UN Special Rapporteur’s 2024 report describes persecution of the Bahá’í community in the Islamic Republic’s first decade, including killings, confiscations and exclusion from employment and education. The policies occurred under Khomeini’s regime, but the source does not establish that he personally ordered each individual act.

State of the evidence

2024 UN report addressing historical violations, including those against Bahá’ís.

Legal status — source text

Historical findings of a UN Special Rapporteur; no criminal judgment against Khomeini.

Attribution

Institutional responsibility for policies targeting a religious minority.

Amnesty International documented the extrajudicial execution of thousands of political prisoners in summer 1988. It links the operation to a fatwa issued by Khomeini and implemented by prison officials; the UN Special Rapporteur also documented the period’s atrocities.

State of the evidence

Fatwa and witness testimony documented by Amnesty International; historical findings without a criminal trial of Khomeini.

Legal status — source text

No personal conviction; Khomeini died in 1989. The events are documented by rights organisations and the UN.

Attribution

Religious order that led to mass extrajudicial executions.

On 4 November 1979 revolutionary students seized the US embassy in Tehran. Khomeini subsequently endorsed their action, leading to the detention of US diplomats and staff for 444 days. A declassified intelligence cable also attributed prior approval to him, but that specific claim rests on the intelligence report.

State of the evidence

Subsequent endorsement is historically established; prior personal approval is alleged in an intelligence cable, not adjudicated.

Legal status — source text

No established personal criminal conviction concerning this event.

Attribution

Political support for the detention of diplomatic hostages.

Revolutionary courts formed after the shah’s overthrow rapidly sentenced former officials, military officers and opponents to death. Rights organisations criticised summary proceedings; Khomeini’s political backing of the new system does not itself prove that he ordered each execution.

State of the evidence

Historical research and a UN Special Rapporteur’s review of the regime’s early years.

Legal status — source text

No established personal criminal conviction concerning this event.

Attribution

Political responsibility for a system of summary revolutionary justice.