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

Ali Vafa'i Khorram

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: March 1, 1989
Location of Killing: Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug trafficking

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Ali Vafa’i Khorram, son of Rajab Ali and known as Puya Ghachi, along with 49 other individuals who were executed in 15 different cities on one day for drug trafficking, was announced in the communiqué of the Center for Combating Narcotics and published in the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on March 2, 1989.

Arrest and Detention

The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial other than he was tried at the Revolutionary Court of Tehran.

Charges

The collective charges brought against Mr. Vafa’i Khorram and seven other individuals, were announced as “continuous and persistent drug trafficking, importing narcotics from Zahedan to Tehran and Saveh, and possession of more than 32 kilograms of heroin and 3,306 kilograms of opium.”

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. 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, methadone, or morphine). The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of Guilt

According to the newspaper, Mr. Vafa'i Khorram and seven co-defendants “had criminal records including murder, robbery, possession of arms, assault, and battery.”

Defense

No information is available on his defense.

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. Ali Vafa’i Khorram to death and he was hanged in Tehran on March 1, 1989.

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