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

Ahmad Zare'i

About

Age: 23
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: December 25, 2008
Location of Killing: Sanandaj, Kordestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder
Age at time of alleged offense: 17

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Ahmad Zare’i was published on the website of the Human Rights Activists in Iran on January 9, 2009. He resided in a village near Sanandaj. His case was related to the murder of an individual in his village in 2002. He was only 16 years old when the incident occurred. According to this report, seven other adolescents had been also executed in the Sanandaj Central Prison.

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 offence committed before the age of eighteen.

Arrest and detention

Mr. Zare’i was detained at the Section Five of the Sanandaj Prison for six years. The circumstances of his arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

A court in Kurdistan tried Mr. Zare’i. No information is available on his trial. 

Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Zare’i was announced as “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 authorities have brought trumped-up charges, including drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences, against their opponents (including political, civil society activists, as well as unionists and ethnic and religious minorities). 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 and executed based on trumped-up charges is unknown.  

Evidence of guilt

The report of this execution did not provide any specific information on the evidence presented against Mr. Zare’i

Defense

Mr. Zare’i was younger than 18 when the crime was committed. No information is available on his defense.

Judgment

Mr. Ahmad Zare’i was hanged in the Sanandaj Central Prison on December 25, 2008. His body was given to his family.    

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