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

Behzad M.

About

Age: 28
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Unknown
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: May 15, 2007
Location of Killing: Evin Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Behzad M. was published on the websites of E’temad Melli on May 16, Farhang-e Ashti on May 17, and Hamvatan Salam newspapers on May 15, 2007.      

Mr. Behzad M. was 28, married, and worked as a driver for a lawyer named Hushang.

Arrest and Detention

According to Farhang-e Ashti newspaper, Mr. Hushang’s wife went to the police in Tehran in February 2004 and reported that her husband, who had left home with his car to visit a friend two days earlier, was missing. Police began a search and a few days they found Mr. Hushang’s car at Sadeqieh Square with no trace of him. Detectives suspected Mr. Behzad M. and inspected his house. They noticed a stench from a closet and found the body of the lawyer when they opened it. Subsequently, the police arrested Mr. Behzad M.”   

Trial

This trial took place in Branch 71 of the Punitive Court of Tehran. No further information is available on the defendant’s trial.     

Charges

The charge against Mr. Behzad M. was announced as "murder."       

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

According to the media reports, the evidence presented against the defendant was his “confession” and the body found in his closet.

Defense

In his defense and explaining the motivation for murder, the defendant says: “I provided a single’s home for Hushang [the victim] and sometimes supplied alcoholic beverages when he had a party. On the day of the murder, in an unusual state of mind, he proposed that I offer him my wife for a good sum of money. When I heard this, I became angry and killed him. Then I stole a one-million-Toman check from his office and hid his body in the closet.”    

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. Behzad M. to death and the ruling was confirmed by Branch 27 of the Supreme Court. He was hanged in the Evin prison yard on May 16, 2007.       

 

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