Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
Washington-based Iranian human rights documentation centre; tracks executions and political prisoners since 2001.
Last refreshed: 10 May 2026
Who is documenting Iran's execution record during the Hormuz conflict?
Timeline for Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
Mentioned in: New Israel-linked moharebeh charge in Mashhad
Iran Conflict 2026- What is the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center?
- The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center is a Washington-based non-profit founded in 2001 that systematically documents executions, political prisoners, and human rights violations in Iran. Its Omid database contains individual records for thousands of cases since the 1979 revolution.
- Who founded the Boroumand Center and why?
- The Center was founded by sisters Ladan and Roya Boroumand in 2001 in memory of their father, Abdorrahman Boroumand, an Iranian opposition lawyer assassinated in Paris in 1991 by Iranian agents.
- Does the Boroumand Center document the 1988 Iranian executions?
- Yes. The Center's Omid database contains detailed documentation of the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners, including records of the Death Commission whose members included Ebrahim Raisi. The documentation is used in international accountability and UN human rights proceedings.
- How does the Boroumand Center document executions inside Iran without being there?
- The Center uses open-source research, Iranian official judicial publications, survivor testimony, and diaspora networks. Researchers outside Iran cross-reference official announcements with testimony from family members and former prisoners to build individual case records.
Background
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (ABC) is a Washington-based non-profit founded in 2001 by sisters Ladan and Roya Boroumand in memory of their father, Abdorrahman Boroumand, an Iranian lawyer and opposition leader assassinated in Paris in 1991. The Center's primary mission is the systematic documentation of executions, political prisoners, and human rights violations in Iran through open-source research, survivor testimony, and official Iranian judicial records. Its Omid database contains individual records for thousands of people executed or imprisoned in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
The Center's role in the Lowdown record is as the principal institutional source for individual-level documentation of Iranian political executions, complementing Hengaw's geographic focus on northwest Iran with a nationwide historical archive. The 1988 mass executions of political prisoners, in which Ebrahim Raisi participated as a member of the Death Commission, are documented by ABC in significant detail, with individual victim records and documentation of the commission's composition and procedures. ABC's Omid database is used by lawyers pursuing international accountability cases and by UN Special Rapporteurs drafting country reports on Iran.
In the context of the Hormuz conflict, ABC's documentation becomes more relevant as Iran's domestic crackdown intensifies. The "moharebeh and Israel" charge filed against Najmeh Amini on 9 May 2026 is the type of capital prosecution case that ABC systematically records. For Lowdown readers, ABC is the reference institution for historical and ongoing documentation of Iranian political executions that contextualises the wartime crackdown Hengaw is tracking in real time.
