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

Samad Soltani

About

Age: 17
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Non-Believer
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: November 25, 1981
Location of Killing: Evin Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Participating in armed demonstrations
Age at time of alleged offense: 17

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Samad Soltani, son of Azizollah, along with 35 others, was announced in the Kayhan newspaper on November 26, 1981, quoting a communiqué from the Central Islamic Revolutionary Public Prosecutor’s Office. News of these executions, names, and charges against defendants are reflected in this communiqué. Additional information is based on an electronic form sent to Omid by Mr. Soltani’s classmate. Also, he is one of the 12,028 individuals listed in an addendum to the Mojahed magazine (No. 261), published by the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) on September 6, 1985. The list includes individuals, affiliated with various opposition groups, who were executed or killed during clashes with the Islamic Republic security forces from June 1981 to the publication date of the magazine.

Mr. Samad Soltani’s name is also mentioned in the book Our Martyrs on the Path to Freedom by Rah-e Kargar Publications. He was a sympathizer of the Revolutionary Workers Organization of Iran-Rah-e Kargar.

According to the electronic form, Mr. Samad Soltani, 17, was a Kharazmi High School student in Tehran. He was smart and exceptionally good at math. He was also against armed struggle and guerrilla movement. His political activities in high school included selling Rah-e Kargar publications and distributing pamphlets of the organization. His classmate remembers him as a personable human being.

International laws have strictly prohibited capital punishment against those who were under the age of 18 at the time of committing the crime. As a party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has the obligation to avoid capital punishment for an offense committed before the age of eighteen.

"Rah-e Kargar" or the "Revolutionary Workers Organization of Iran" was established in the summer of 1979. The Organization was founded by individuals from various leftist groups who rejected the idea of armed struggle and believed in political action. They identified themselves as Marxist-Leninists, promoting a socialist revolution and the leadership of the proletariat. They differed with the pro-Soviet communist party, Tudeh, in that they opposed the Islamic Republic’s and Ayatollah Khomeini's leadership.

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of Mr. Soltani’s arrest and detention are unknown. According to his classmate, he was probably arrested in 1981.

Trial

According to the communiqué, the Central Islamic Revolutionary Court issued the ruling against Mr. Soltani and 35 others collectively. According to his classmate, Mr. Soltani had been condemned to four years imprisonment during his first trial. No information is available on this trial.

Charges

According to the Central Islamic Revolutionary Public Prosecutor’s Office, the charges against Mr. Soltani were [being] “an active member of the Rah-e Kargar [Organization] and participating in an armed demonstration of hypocrites [Mojahedin Khalq] against the regime of the Islamic Republic”.

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.

Evidence of guilt

According to his cellmate, the evidence provided against Mr. Soltani was his short interview with Javanan magazine as a representative of the Rah-e Kargar Organization in the fall of 1980. His educational teacher in high school provided this interview for the Islamic Revolutionary Court.

Defense

No information is available about Mr. Soltani.

Judgment

The Central Islamic Revolutionary Court identified Mr. Samad Soltani as “Mofsed [corruptor on Earth], Baghi [rebel], and Mohareb [fighter against God]” and condemned him to death. The ruling was carried out at Evin Prison, and he was executed by a firing squad, along with 35 others, on November 25, 1981, at dawn. According to his cellmate, the change of sentence to the death penalty, in the case of Mr. Soltani, was due to the appearance of his interview with the Javanan magazine at the court. Mr. Samad Soltani was only 17 years old. 

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