Amin Mustafa Sultani
Amin was born in 1953 in Almana a small village close to Mariwan. He finished primary school and then the family moved to Sanandaj. He started studying in a boarding school; Chahareh Aban. Amin found it difficult to be away from his family in this period. Later he went to Hedayat high school.
Amin grow up in an atmosphere much influenced by social injustice. It is in this atmosphere before the revolution in 1979 he became friends with some student activists. They introduced him to Komala(The Komala Kurdistan’s Organization of the Communist Party of Iran is an Iranian Kurdish communist party active throughout the Iran–Iraq border). It is in this period he becomes friends with key members in the organization such as Fuad (leader in Komela). During the revolution Amin played a major role in organizing protests on behalf of the party in Kurdistan and he traveled frequently to Tabriz and Tehran with specific requests from the party. After the revolution he helped the party establishing the first Peshmerga units in Mariwan. After the revolution and the infamous Fatwa (Khomeini declared holy war against the Kurdish people) revolutionary guard moved into Kurdistan. SEPAH (revolutionary guard) organized local religious people in the fight against the Kurdish people. With the help of two religious groups Qiadeh Mowaqat and Maktabe Qoran members of Komele were identified and arrested. It was during a mass arrest that Amin and his brother Hussain were arrested they were convicted during a show trial. They were convicted without access to legal representatives. They were executed along with seven other prisoners on August 25. 1979. Their bodies were released to the family and they were brought back to Almana. They are buried at Taleh Sahar cemetery.

A prominent activist of leftist and revolutionary movement in Kurdistan, and one of the five fallen brothers of Mostafa Soltani family

Childhood and exile

Amin was the fourth child of Rashid and Behie Mostafa Soltani.
He was born in 1332 Iranian Callander in the Almane village in Marivan province.
He finished his primary school at that village and later joined his family in Sanandaj to continue his education.
His father enrolled him at Fourth Aban School in Qatarchian district.
It was a heavy atmosphere and environment for him to be away from his family and his friends, but those days did not last long before he managed to overcome the hardship.
Classmates like our brother Abdollah and a caring teacher like Mehi were making it easier for him to stay.

High school

Amin finished his school successfully and enrolled at Hidayet high school.
His sharp mind and intelligence made him aware about injustice which people were enduring.
He realized that the world were full of injustice. Injustice against lower classes and sexual and ethnic discrimination were wide spread.
He realized the elite were ruling the country where the majority of people were living under harsh conditions.
He came to acquaintance with Komala and leftist and Marxist ideas and at a younger age.
He was one of few commissioners who were younger than 18 when he started his active political engagement.
This period were shadowed by his search for more political knowledge and experience from other revolutions from other countries.
He was dedicated as well helping poor people.
His goal was to get to know the hardship and daily struggles of poor people and at the same time to help them in their struggle for freedom and justice.

To the labours at the cities and factories

To go amongst workers is confirming his conviction and his truthfulness and faithfulness towards his ideals and less fortunate in society.
Few intellectuals were willing to leave their comfortable lives and take a step towards labour class but Amin showed resolute and strong character and accepted to work as welder after suggestion from his older brother Fouad.

After a while he left the welding company and he entered the simple world of children.
Books were the old friends for Amin.
Books from authors like; Ashref Derwishyan, Samad Behrengi, Nasrin Khaksar, Qodsi Qazi Noor, and other authors to enhance the level of knowledge for his pupils.
Even if he was still young and was still experiencing the world but he was already able to recognise his responsibilities towards his family and friends and he had such a compassion for other human beings.

Social position

His compassion and kindness towards the poor people was renowned. His 26 years of life was a story of struggle for the weak and poor in society. His mind was searching for human liberation.
He loved mankind and his love could be for a soldier, a teacher, a pupil, a labour, a farmer or a refugee.
He was respectful to people with disabilities. You could not forget his gracious attitude to disable people.

He had many dreams and there was a beam of life in him.
Amin had close contact with people who had been suppressed as a consequence of a stratified social imposition. He saw them with respect and always had a cordial conversation with them.
To respect other human beings was a duty for him.

The world of children

Amin left his fellow welders at the factory and went to the pure world of children.
He used his position as a teacher as a mean for his political aspirations.

He showed love to his pupils, in the villages Behram Abad and Marg and Hezar Khani which were part of Marivan province he tried to enhance the political and social awareness amongst his pupils and people around him.

He could easily approach the young men and women in the villages and create emotional bridges.
He was a friend and an organiser for the movement and a strong leader.

In the political process he was commuting to Teheran and Kermanshah and Tabriz and was joining the student protests and gathering whilst getting more political experience.
In Teheran he was joining the poesy reading sessions which were organised by students and was joining the debates.
He visited theatre in Teheran, plays written by Said Soltanpoor and Mosen Yilfani who was a director were his favourites.

He increased his contact with Dr Jafar Safei
Who was one of the prominent leaders in Komala. He frequently visited cities like Rezayie, Bokan, Tebriz and Teheran and met his friends.
When Dr Jafar Shafei was on his last year of medical college he invited him to the villages; Ne Ne, Chor and Almane and treated patients. He definitely saved some patients from certain death.

Beside his political chores he traveled to Kermanshah and visited his brother who was a teacher in the village of Chialay. He made some political connections whilst there.

When guests like Parwis Amir and Iraj Aram came to Almane he showed great hospitality and followed them around in the beautiful Awramanat and Marivan.

The bordered and the security atmosphere

Fear of censorship and the conservative attitudes that SAVAK has imposed on the population could never curtail the revolutionary aspirations and free thoughts of Amin.
When his brother Fouad was jailed he was preaching in different gatherings about the regime and the reasons he was accused of.
In 1355 Iranian Callander some of Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga were in a dire situation, they had sought refuge in Awramanat and Marivan mountains and they were facing death because of harsh conditions.
These pioneers of Kurdish movement were in a difficult situation and they needed immediate help.
Amin and Othman Roshan and som few other friends with disregard for their own safety and lives defied SAVAK and helped those Peshmerga. They were able to collect a huge amount of money and vital provisions which saved Komala Ranjderan from certain death.

That was the time when Marivan was the epicentre of the political upheaval where people from the different walk of life came together and they organised the famous Marivan protest where inhabitants of the town came out in thousands and had the sit down strike against the regime.
That was as a consequence of tireless action of political leaders and activists like Amin which made it possible.

The heavy burden of responsibility after the incarceration of Fouad

After the incarceration of his brother his political and organizational duties was increased. When Fouad was arrested he was a teacher in Hezar Khani village.

When the infamous SAVAK targeted the secret network of Komala they imprisoned the leaders of the movement.
Amin became the designated contact person on behalf of the party to to lead.
He had a profound and deep connection with Sadiq Kamanger.
He was the channel for the party relation both for the members in imprisonment and the other who secretly were active.
His personality had a huge impact on his success in leading the movement.
Amin was like a teacher for his brothers and sisters as well. Even if he was quite busy but he was still spending time with them and was listening to their needs and complaints.

When there was forbidden for brothers and sisters to visit relatives whom were imprisoned he convinced his parents to let his siblings go instead of them and visit Fouad at prison.
Where Amjad, Reza and Heshmet were able to visit their older brother.
His younger brothers were looking up to him as a role model.
He even was giving advice to his older brother Hussein.

Political position and collision with authorities

The regime had organised suppression of free media and political activism through network of spies and organization like SAVAK and Jandarmari and secret police.
That had created a false sense of quiet before the storm in 1979.
Immediately after the revolution there were other organizations like Qiade Mowaqat and Maktab Quran which popped up.

Amin was an outspoken political activist who made revelations about those suspicious organizations like Qiade Mowaqat.
Qiade Mowaqat had erected check and search points on warriors roads and were asking people for their IDs and were detaining political activist.
Amin was detained in one of those check points by Qiade Mowaqat and had been subjected to humiliation at some point.

The hunger strike of the political prisoners of Sanandaj and the sit-in in the courthouse

Sanandaj political prisoners organized a hunger strike to make demands for fair and democratic demands in der summer of 1978 and started a political struggle in captivity. On 17/4/1357 Iranian Calendar (8/7/1978), Amin showed unparalleled courage and organization talent in organizing protests and sit-ins in the Sanandaj courthouse and street demonstrations that were unprecedented until then. A number of engaged people from the cities of Marivan and Sanandaj and other cities of Kurdistan, comrades and families of the detainees sat in the Sanandaj courthouse to support the prisoners and to achieve their fair and human rights…….
Komala, the independent fighters of Sanandaj, the families of political prisoners and some members of Mostafa Soltani’s family contributed to this transformation and bold move. Komala, impartial combatants of Sanandaj, the families of political prisoners and some members of Mostafa Soltani’s family contributed to this brave action. Several members of our family were arrested during this massive demonstration, including our parents, Hussein, Malakeh, Amin, Majid, Timur and Karim……………….
Amin was one of the elected representatives of the families of political prisoners to talk to judicial officials. For this reason, he and countless other people were arrested by SAVAK (Security Service of Shah’s Regime) and police. One day later, Abdullah Baban and our brother Abdullah Mostafa Soltani went to Tehran to support political prisoners and to report about the news of the Sanandaj events in Iran and around the world. They contacted many political and engaged figures, including Saremuddin Sadegh Vaziri, Karim Sanjabi of the National Front, Lahiji of the lawyers Association, Sahabi of the Freedom Movement, and Christian Michel, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a number of world-renowned international press correspondents. These actions had effects. Christian Michel, the head of the Red Cross, arrived in Sanandaj prison the next day by helicopter………………………
The total demands of political prisoners were implemented. Political prisoners successfully ended their four-day hunger strike.

On the eve of the uprising

The youth and the masses of the people aligned themselves with the wave of revolution and Amin himself was one of those who, like thousands of revolutionaries, contributed to organizing this social movement and uprising. On the eve of the uprising, his activities accelerated. He enlightened the urban and rural masses in their role and class position day and night. He was a secret cadre and a very active member of Komala who implemented the guidelines any time………………………….
Amin was one of the brave and honest organizers and leaders of this sensitive period. Komala had built up a large social base in the middle of towns and villages thanks to the revolutionaries of Kurdistan, including Amin, before it stepped out of the underground and went public. This social base adequately guaranteed Komala’s political power during the uprising and resistance movement in Kurdistan. In winter of 1978, Marivan militants and freedom fighters surrounded the Marivan police building to disarm it. Amin showed admirable and brilliant courage in disarming this instrument of repression organ………………

Activity in revolutionary associations

Amin worked consistently professionally on Komala’s policies and strategies. He was faithful to the lofty ideals of humanity and the salvation of the poor and suffering people. He was persistent and progressive in all areas and stages of the struggle.
He worked in the association of Kurdish People’s Rights Defenders in Marivan, Marivan Teachers Association, Marivan Security Headquarters, Peasants Union, Marivan Unemployed Workers Union and had tie the political effort in these organizations………..
Along with the people of Belo village, he took part in the sit-in of the farmers of Belo village to take back their agricultural lands that had been usurped by the feudal, and he played a constructive and great role in advancing their goals and leading that sit-in to victory. …………………
He participated in the mass protests of the people of Darseran against the feudal and their supporting government along with other revolutionaries, as well as their protest march to the border and echoing their voice in the media. When the Islamic Republic and the local reactionaries ousted the peasants of Soma and Bradost from their homes, Amin immediately helped them to thwart the conspiracies of the Islamic Republic……….

Trustworthy for secrets and reliable for his brother Fouad

During his short life, Amin never paid attention to his private life. He interpreted his happiness in the happiness and prosperity of poor of the deprived masses and was sincerely loyal and committed to it. This potential and high revolutionary capacities and human qualities had attracted Fouad’s attention. He cooperated directly with Fouad very soon and approached the Komala organization. Amin had a realized Fouad’s character and personality. Amin was still at the peak of his maturity and experiencing the revolution and the leadership of the masses when he was shot by Islamic fascism.

Towards a bold and revolutionary historical action
Amin, next to Majid and Fouad and other revolutionaries, was one of the first Peshmergas of the Peasants’ Union in Marivan…………………..
This Union was organized in the spring of 1978 in order to realize the ideals and just rights of the Kurdish people. It had actually had a broad ideological and social content, because it preached freedom in political struggles and the organization of urban and rural poor masses and democratic protests…………..
Amin acquainted the deprived masses with their rights, protests and changes in society parallel to his political activity. . He had lofty and dynamic ideas. The deprived masses knew what a democratic, pacifist, socialist and revolutionary man they had lost, when he was executed. His death immortalized his name in the just movement of Kurdistan. This attracted the attention of the freedom-loving youth and deprived people to Komala. His faith and trust in the transformation of society by the masses, and the struggle against monarchy and Islamic governments were his priority. That is why the Islamic totalitarian government preferred shooting and physical liquidation of him………………………

The growing and secular movement of Kurdistan and the role of the Quran School

The combatants and revolutionaries of Marivan had a special social base and popularity among the people. They had a great reputation and status. A wide range of progressive and secular teachers had leftist, socialist and modern ideas. A religious movement called the Quran School was formed under the leadership of Ahmad Moftizadeh at that time, which became a major obstacle to the success of the Kurdistan Movement…………………
The Revolutionary Guards united the opposite groups against the Kurdistan movement in Marivan garrison and in the building of SAVAK. They used Qiaday Mowaqat (the temporary leadership – Democratic Party of Iraqi Kurdistan was called so) and the Quran School as an instrument against the Kurdistan movement………………. Quran School supported the fatwa Jihad (Islamic order to holy war) of Khomeini, which was in fact the order to massacre the oppressed people of Kurdistan.

They offered what they could for the Islamic Republic and against the people of Kurdistan. They were flown in helicopters to all prisons to identify Komala prisoners and other anti-regime political prisoners. They were accomplices in the execution of hundreds of prisoners by the Islamic Republic.
Members of the Quran School were stationed at the entrances and exits of the city of Marivan. They were masked and identified revolutionaries beside the Revolutionary Guards. In one case they arrested more than a dozen people and took them to the barracks prison. Hossein was among the arrested. My father immediately applied to visit Khalkhali. He accepted my father’s offer and made an appointment. My father visited him in Marivan garrison. Khalkhali, Khomeini’s darling and representative, swore by his honor to release them. But history and the Kurdish people experienced his honorable oath in a tragic manner! After less than a week, he shot nine honorable and beloved persons in prison: Ali Dastani, Ahmad Qaderzadeh, Fayeq Azizi, Dr. Bahman Akhzari, Hossein Pir Khezrani, Jalal Nasimi, Ahmad Pir Khezrani, Amin Mostafa Soltani and Hossein Mostafa Soltani.
On 3/6/1358 (25/8/1979), nine persons were executed by Revolutionary Guards and local mercenaries without having a legal process or lawyer. Amin, this honest, revolutionary and progressive man, passed away from us like a sunset. He spent his 26-year life with fighting for the rights and defending them for the deprived people. The kind, compassionate and revolutionary image of Amin will never leave the hearts. With his death, burning tears fell from eyes.
The corpses of these loved ones were transferred to Marivan Hospital and later to Haji Najib Mosque. Amin’s and Hossein’s bodies arrived in Almana. They were buried the next day. It is noteworthy that the valor of mother Bahia had attracted all the attention of the audience. It was absolutely unbelievable. Mother Bahia, her heart like ocean with a strong spirit and will, witnessed this historical mourning. That sublime spirit had taken everyone by surprise and was really deserved to be respected and praised.

The guests of Taleh Savar cemetery
Taleh Savar is a cemetery located two kilometers from Almana. It has been a cemetery of Almana since a long time ago. But after the 3/6/1358 (25/8/1979), the cemetery got a political status and has a different aspect. Hossein and Amin were the first eternal guests of this place who belonged to the resistance of Marvian region. Six days later, Fouad, the charismatic leader of the Kurdistan Movement, followed his two brothers. A large number of grateful people of Oraman and Marivan, in addition to family and relatives, attended the funeral. It was a shocking tragedy for our family, the waves of which shook the family. They were among the fighters who made a name for themselves in the history of the Kurdish Struggle. Just as honesty never perishes, so their memory and courage will never be forgotten. In those extremely difficult circumstances, mother Bahia had a self-confidence, a strong sense of faith and a heart full of patience. She bravely endured that painful and great mourning. The tombstones of the martyrs of Taleh Savar have been broken and destroyed four times by local mercenaries of Islamic regime.

The ceremony on the 40th day after the funeral
(A kurdish tradition, the dead will be commemorated after 40 days)

The youth and people of Oraman and Marivan regions came to Almana in that day to express their gratitude and sympathy and to commemorate the 40th day of the martyrs by holding placards and chanting slogans. They walked all the alleys and back alleys of Almana chanting and then came to the house of the martyrs. Mother Bahia and the whole family welcomed them, appreciated and thanked them for their sympathy.

• Comrade Osman Roshan Tudeh has had long joint political activities with Amin. He helped me a lot in writing Amin’s memoir sending me worthy memories. I appreciate his support.
  ** Writing this memoir would not have been possible without the help of my sisters Faiza and Malaka and my brothers Abdullah, Reza and Heshmat. I sincerely thank them.

Rashad Mostafa Soltani

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