Sadegh Sharafkandi had led the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan since his predecessor was assassinated in Vienna. In September 1992, he was gunned down in Berlin, in a Greek restaurant, together with three other Kurdish opponents. German justice would establish that Tehran had ordered the attack, a rare thing for a political murder, and Europe recalled its ambassadors.
The story
Sadegh Sharafkandi led the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, which demanded autonomy for the Kurds of Iran, when he was shot dead in Berlin. He is the second secretary general of that party to be murdered in Europe and buried at Père-Lachaise, three years after Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, killed in Vienna in 1989.
Born in 1938, Sharafkandi had led the party for three years. On 17 September 1992 he was killed in Berlin along with three other Kurdish opponents, in a Greek restaurant called Mykonos.
The German courts established that the attack had been ordered by the Islamic Republic of Iran — a rare thing for a political assassination of this kind. The affair set off a major diplomatic crisis between Iran and the European Union, and the recall of the European ambassadors. He lies on the chemin des Anglais beside Fattah Abdoli and Homayoun Ardalan, killed with him; the inscription, in French and in Kurdish, reads “Mort pour la liberté du peuple kurde” — died for the freedom of the Kurdish people.
On site, do not miss
His predecessor Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, murdered in Vienna in 1989, lies in Division 76: two Kurdish leaders killed three years apart, in two capitals, and buried in the same cemetery.
Visitors' questions
Where is Sadegh Sharafkandi's grave?
In Division 42 of Père-Lachaise. He was murdered in Berlin on 17 September 1992, in the Mykonos restaurant, along with three of his companions.
Ahmet KayaWhat was the Mykonos killing?
The murder, on 17 September 1992 in Berlin, of Sharafkandi and three other Kurdish opposition figures, in a Greek restaurant called the Mykonos. The attack was ordered by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Yilmaz GüneyWhat came of it?
A major diplomatic crisis between Iran and the European Union: the German courts established Tehran's responsibility, which is rare for a political killing of this kind, and the European ambassadors were recalled.
Nestor MakhnoWho was his predecessor?
Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, also secretary-general of the KDP-Iran and also murdered — in Vienna, in 1989. Both men lie at Père-Lachaise, in Divisions 42 and 76.
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