Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Arash Gholamian Khorasani

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: July 6, 2005
Location of Killing: Mashhad, Khorasan\Khorasan-e Razavi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Armed robbery

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Arash Gholamian Khorasani, son of Gholam Reza, along with two other individuals, was announced on the website of the Hamshahri and the Kayhan newspapers (July 7, 2005) as well as the Fars News Agency (July 6).

Arrest and Detention

According to the Hamshahri newspaper, Mr. Arash Gholamian Khorasani was arrested at his residence.

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial. According to the Hamshahri newspaper, this trial took place in Branch Two of the Public Court in Mashhad.

Charges

According to the Kayhan newspaper report, the charges against Mr. Arash Gholamian Khorasani were announced as “participation in armed robberies.”

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial. International human rights organizations have drawn attention to reports indicating that Islamic Republic authorities have brought trumped-up charges against their political opponents and executed them for alleged drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences. Each year Iranian authorities sentence to death hundreds of alleged common criminals, following judicial processes that fail to meet international standards. The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of Guilt

The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against the defendant except his own confessions. According to the Hamshahri newspaper, he confessed to a bank robbery, in collaboration with two other individuals. “He also confessed to a murder in 1998 for which he was able to get the consent of the victim’s family. But since he had to pay for blood money, he decided to commit armed robbery. The newspaper quoted him saying, ‘After awhile, along with four others, we established a gang. We got some motorcycles, a Kalashnikov, a sidearm, and a vehicle, and robbed an Interest Free Loan Fund.’ The newspaper reported that he confessed that during the robbery from Mellat Bank, he had a sidearm and his collaborator, Davud, had a Kalashnikov.” Whether or not these weapons were found at the time of, or subsequent to, the arrest is not known.

International human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its systematic use of severe torture and solitary confinement to obtain confessions from detainees and have questioned the authenticity of confessions obtained under duress. In the case of political detainees, these confessions are, at times, televised. The National Television broadcasts confessions during which prisoners plead guilty to vague and false charges, repent and renounce their political beliefs, and/or implicate others. Human rights organizations have also pointed to the pattern of retracted confessions by those prisoners who are freed.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Gholamian Khorasani’s defense.

Judgment

According to the Hamshahri newspaper report, Branch Two of the public court recognized Mr. Arash Gholamian Khorasani as “at war with God” and a “corruptor on earth,” and condemned him to death and returning the stolen money. He was executed in public in Qasemabad district in Mashhad at 10 a.m. on July 6, 2005.

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