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

Sattar Shiri

About

Age: 20
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: September 6, 2006
Location of Killing: Evin Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder
Age at time of alleged offense: 17

About this Case

Mr. Shiri was a quiet, ordinary boy who minded his own business and did not get involved in others’ affairs while in prison. 

News of the execution of Mr. Satar Shiri and one other person was published by various sources including Iscanews and the Iranian Student News Agency (September 6, 2006.) Additional information was taken from an interview by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation with his cellmate (ABF interview) and an interview by the Committee of Human Rights Reporters with his cellmate on January 8, 2009, as well as other sources.*

Mr. Shiri was single and resided in Eslamshahr. According to his cellmate he was a quiet, ordinary boy who minded his business and did not get involved in the affairs of other prisoners (ABF interview). His case was related to a group fight over a public phone in Eslamshahr that resulted in the murder of a young man on February 13, 2004. He was 17 years old at the time of the incident. 

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

Agents of Police Station 11 in Eslamshahr arrested Mr. Shiri in Eslamshahr during an investigation into the murder of a young man in a public phone kiosk in February of 2004. The circumstances of his arrest and detention are not known. Mr. Shiri was detained at the Rehabilitation and Correction Center for juvenile defendants for about a year. He was transferred to the Raja’ishahr Prison some time before his execution.   

Trial

Branch 71 of the Criminal Court in Tehran tried Mr. Shiri in the presence of five judges. No information is available on his trial or whether he had an attorney.

Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Shiri was announced as “murder.” He was accused of killing a young man with knife stabs during a group fight over the use of a public phone.

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.

Evidence of guilt

The evidence presented against Mr. Shiri was his “confession” and the testimony of a witness (ISNA.)  

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

Mr. Shiri was younger than 18 at the time of the crime. No information is available on his defense. He had stated that he had no intention to kill the victim. After the victim used a public telephone for a long period of time, Shiri  became angry and fought with him, a confrontation which ended in the victim’s death.

Judgment

Branch 71 of the Criminal Court in Tehran condemned Mr. Satar Shiri to death. The Supreme Court confirmed the ruling in June of 2005 (Sharq newspaper.) He was hanged along with one other person at Evin Prison in Tehran on September 6, 2006. Three other defendants of the same case were condemned to three years’ imprisonment each for participation in murder (Jomhuri Eslami newspaper.) 

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* Other sources: Hamshahri on January 19, 2005 and May 23, 2005; Sharq on May 23, 2005 and September 6, 2005; ISNA on June 15, 2005; Iran on May 23, 2005; Ettela’at on September 6, 2005; and Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on September 7, 2005. 

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