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

Mohammd Reza Ranjbar Kermani

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: February 23, 2015
Location of Killing: Rasht Prison (Lakan), Rasht, Gilan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug trafficking

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Mohammad Reza Ranjbar Kermani, known as Yakuza, was published on the website of the Gilan Provincial Courthouse on February 23, 2015, quoting the Public Relations Office of this courthouse. According to this report, he had a criminal record for drug trafficking and had been condemned to life imprisonment.  

Arrest and Detention

Mr. Ranjbar Kermani was arrested in Bandar-e Anzali while he was on leave from prison based on an Open Sentence. * There is no specific information on his arrest and detention. He was imprisoned at the Rasht Central Prison until his execution.

Trial

Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht tried Mr. Ranjbar Kermani for the first time and, while he was waiting his sentence, Branch One of this court tried him again for a new charge. No further information is available on his trial. 

Charges

The charge against Mr. Ranjbar Kermani was announced as "selling 13.7 kilograms of methamphetamine," during his first trial by Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht. He was additionally charged by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht for “attempting to possess and hide 325 grams of heroin in his clothes during a visitation with his relatives in the Rasht Prison.”

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

Evidence of Guilt

The evidence presented against Mr. Ranjbar Kermani in both his trials was “attempting to sell 13.7 kilograms of methamphetamine,” and recovery of “325 grams of heroin from his clothes,” during a prison visitation.

Mr. Ranjbar Kermani had been previously condemned to life imprisonment for “supplying, possession, transportation, and hiding 195 kilograms of opium in Bam, Kerman.” 

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Ranjbar Kermani's defense.    

Judgment

Two Branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Rasht, separately, condemned Mr. Mohammad Reza Ranjbar Kermani to death. The Supreme Court and the General Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the ruling. He was hanged in the Rasht Central Prison on February 23, 2015.

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* Some convicts can work and live outside the prison after certain conditions are met and with the condition of not getting involved in illegal activities. (ABF research) 

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