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

Mohammad Amin

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: July 27, 2004
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. Mohammad Amin, without his last name, along with three others, was published in the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on July 28, 2004, and in the Iran newspaper on July 29, 2004. His case was related to drug trafficking.

Arrest and detention

According to the existing information, after two individuals had been arrested and confessed, Mr. Mohammad Amin and three others were arrested. Based on confessions of the two arrested individuals, officials staged a smuggling deal and arrested the four defendants in Qazvin. The circumstances of their arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court tried Mr. Mohammad Amin and the other defendants. No information is available on his trial.

Charges

The charges brought against Mr. Mohammad Amin and three others were collectively announced as “dealing and transporting narcotics.” (Jomhuri Eslami newspaper)

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

The evidence presented against Mr. Mohammad Amin was the confession of two drug traffickers and the official investigation.

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. Mohammad Amin had an attorney; however, no information is available on his defense.

Judgment

Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court condemned Mr. Mohammad Amin to death, 40 lashes, and confiscation of his property, except for his family’s normal living expenses, based on Article 8, Section 6, Article 16, Section 1, Article 19, and Article 5, Section 1 of the Amendments to Drug Law. The General Public Prosecutors’ Office confirmed the legality of the ruling and validated it. He was hanged, along with three others, in the presence of the judge of Sentence Enforcement of the Revolutionary Public Prosecutors’ Office in Qazvin, Qazvin Central Prison authorities, representatives from forensics, and the Deputy of Drug Combating of the Islamic Propaganda Organization at the Qazvin Central Prison yard on July 27, 2004. The flogging sentence against Mr. Mohammad Amin was carried out before his execution. 

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