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

Yusef Ali Yusefnejad

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim

Case

Date of Killing: January 14, 1985
Location of Killing: Orumieh, Azarbaijan-e Gharbi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Yusef Ali Yusefnejad was reported in the Kayhan newspaper on January 14, 1985.

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.

Charges

According to this report, Mr. Yusefnejad was charged with first-degree murder.

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’s authorities have brought trumped-up charges against their political opponents and executed them for drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences. 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 based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of guilt

According to the report, Mr. Yusefnejad confessed to the crime after his arrest.

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. In the case of political detainees, these confessions are, at times, televised. The National Television broadcasts confessions during which prisoners plead guilty to vague and false charges, repent and renounce their political beliefs, and/or implicate others. Human rights organizations have also pointed to the pattern of retracted confessions by those prisoners who are freed.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Yusefnejad’s defense.

Judgment

Branch 8 of Penal Court sentenced Mr. Yusefnejad to death. Having received 80 lashes, he was publicly hanged at 7:20 a.m. on January 14, 1985 at Mahabad Circle in Orumieh.

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