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

Rahim (Qader) Karim Mokaram (Ashuvani)

About

Age: 46
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: December 24, 2015
Location of Killing: Central Prison (Chubindar), Qazvin, Zanjan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug trafficking

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Rahim Karim Mokaram, known as Qader Ashovani, along with seven others, was published on the official website of the Qazvin Provincial Courthouse and, separately, on the Kurdpa website on December 24, 2015.

Mr. Karim Mokaram, 46, was a Kurd from the Hassanabad Village, Nalus District, near Oshnavieh in Azarbaijan-e Gharbi. He had been previously imprisoned for 11 years in Tehran in relation to narcotics charges. (Kurdpa)

Arrest and detention

According to the Public Prosecutor of Qazvin, Mr. Karim Mokaram was arrested, along with seven other defendants of this case, during two operations in 2011. Their case was sent to Branch Six of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Qazvin (Qazvin Provincial Courthouse). The circumstances of his arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

Branch Three of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin tried Mr. Karim Mokaram. No information is available on his trial.

Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Karim Mokaram was announced as “drug trafficking.” No specific information is available on his charge.    

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 the Islamic Republic authorities have brought trumped-up charges, including drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences, against their opponents (including political, civil society activists, as well as unionists and ethnic and religious minorities). Thousands of alleged drug traffickers have been sentenced to death following judicial processes that fail to meet international standards. Scores of them were executed based on a 1989 law imposing mandatory death sentences on drug traffickers found in possession of specified amounts of proscribed narcotics (5 kg of hashish or opium, and more than 30 grams of heroin, codeine or methadone). The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of guilt

According to the Public Prosecutor of Qazvin, two defendants of this case had been arrested while possessing 10 kilograms and 900 grams of heroin. They claimed that Mr. Karim Mokaram gave them the narcotics on a highway in order to deliver it to another defendant of the case.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Karim Mokaram’s defense.

Judgment

Branch Three of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin condemned Mr. Rahim Karim Mokaram and six other defendants of this case to death and the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling. He was hanged, along with seven others, at the Qazvin Prison yard on December 24, 2015 at dawn.

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