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

Unknown

About

Age: 17
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: May 11, 2006
Location of Killing: Khoramabad, Lorestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder; Homosexual rape
Age at time of alleged offense: 17

About this Case

News of the execution of an unknown individual, along with another defendant, was published by various sources including the Kayhan newspaper on May 11, 2006, the Sharq newspaper on May 14, 2006, Fars news agency on May 11, 2006, and Khabar-e Jonub on May 15, 2006. According to the existing information, this case was related to the rape and murder of a 12-year-old boy in Khoramabad in April of 2006.

According to the Head of Courthouse in Lorestan, the case of this person and the other defendant was expedited due to special sensitivity and the public hurt feelings, and the ruling was issued one month after the crime took place. This person was 17 when arrested. (Kayhan)

International laws have strictly prohibited capital punishment against those who were under the age of 18 at the time of committing the crime. As a party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has the obligation to avoid capital punishment for an offence committed before the age of eighteen.

Arrest and detention

Inspectors of the Intelligence Police in Khoramabad arrested the defendant on April 10, 2006 during their investigation into the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy named Kamran. The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

The Criminal Court of Khoramabad tried the defendant out of turn. No information is available on the defendant’s trial.

Charges

The charges brought against this unknown individual were announced as “rape and murder.” According to Fars news agency, the defendant was accused of taking the victim to the mountains where, in collaboration with another person, they raped and murdered him.  

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). 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 and executed based on trumped-up charges is unknown. 

Evidence of guilt

According to the existing information, the “confession” of the defendant, recovery of the victim’s body, and testimony of witnesses, who had seen the victim with the defendants, were the basic reasons for the ruling.

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.

Defense

This unknown defendant was 17 years old when the incident occurred (Kayhan). No information is available on his defense. The legal procedure up to the execution was out of turn and took only one month. 

Judgment

The Criminal Court of Khoramabad condemned the defendant to death and Branch 32 of the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling (Kayhan). The defendant was hanged, along with the other defendant in this case, in public at Naserkhosro Intersection in Khoramabad on May 13, 2006 at 9 a.m. 

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