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

Aziz Mardani

About

Age: 22
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: October 13, 2004
Location of Killing: Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder; Rape

About this Case

The news of the execution of Mr. Aziz (or Habib?) Mardani and another person was published on the websites of the Keyhannewspaper on both June 27 and October 14, 2004, as well as theIrannewspaper on June 22, and finally the Sharqnewspaper on October 14, 2004. According to the Keyhannewspaper, a five-year-old boy was missing in the Torkan area of Shiraz in February 2004. After the family of the missing boy went to police, his body was found nearby in a wilderness area.

Arrest and detention

According to the Keyhannewspaper, after discovering the body, Shiraz police began an extensive investigation to identify the perpetrators of the crime. They arrested several suspects including two young men. One was named Mojtaba, 17, and the other 'Aziz, 22. The report does not provide the reason for this suspicion.

Trial

According to the media reports, the defendants were tried in Branch 12 of the public court of Shiraz.

Charges

TheKeyhannewspaper quotes the Public Prosecutor of Shiraz stating the charges against the defendants were "kidnapping, murder, and rape."

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 including drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences against their political opponents. They are then executed. Each year, Iranian authorities sentence hundreds of alleged common criminals to death, 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

The evidence leveled against the defendants was their "confessions". According to the Keyhannewspaper, these two young men confessed to the murder of the five-year-old boy after hours of interrogation. The Sharqnewspaper reports that the defendants first denied committing the crime. But, after they were transferred to the Shiraz Police station, they finally confessed that on his birthday, when the boy left his house to buy something, they took him to an animal farm nearby pretending to show him a white lamb. But, since he resisted, they injured him with broken glass and then beat him in the face. Then, they raped him. To avoid being identified, they cut his throat with the glass then escaped.

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. They have also questioned the authenticity of confessions obtained under duress. In the case of political detainees, these confessions are, at times, televised. The National Television Station 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 the prisoners who have been freed.

Defense

No information is available on the defendant's defense. According to theIrannewspaper, they expressed regret for their action.

Judgment

The court condemned these two defendants to death and the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling. They were hanged in public in Sharifabad Square of Shiraz on October 13, 2004.

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