Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Memorial
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Mohammad Amin Hormozi

About

Age: 25
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: October 30, 2006
Location of Killing: Zahedan, Sistan Va Baluchestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: War on God

Human rights violations in this case

The Legal Context

The Courts

 

Islamic Revolutionary Courts, 11 February 1979-1994

 

In the immediate aftermath of the 11 February 1979 Revolution, an ad hoc tribunal, initially referred to as the Extraordinary Revolutionary Tribunal, was set up to try the officials of the previous regime, for which no specific procedures were devised. In a decree dated 24 February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, the revolutionary religious leader, appointed a cleric as Shari’a Judge and instructed him “to issue Shari’a-based rulings,” thereby establishing the foundation of a system of special courts.

 

Initially, the revolutionary courts’ jurisdiction was determined by the religious judge’s interpretation of the Shari’a (Islamic law based on the teachings of the Qur’an, the traditions of the Prophet, the 12 imams, and the teachings of Shi’a scholars. On 17 June 1979, the Revolutionary Courts and the Prosecutor’s Office Rules of Procedure, which was only selectively observed, established the latter’s jurisdiction and make-up.

 

The Courts’ jurisdiction encompassed a wide array of offenses including moharebeh (“waging war with God”), efsad e fel arz (“spreading corruption on Earth”), crimes against national and international security, economic crimes, murder, profiteering, prostitution, rape, and narcotic drugs-related crimes. The law required that two of the three principal members of the Revolutionary Courts be Shari’a judges.

 

 

Islamic Revolutionary Courts, 1994-2002

 

With the adoption of the Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 14 June 1994, and the Code of Criminal Procedure for General and Revolutionary Courts of 19 September 1999, a uniform code of procedure was applied to both revolutionary and general courts. The jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts was limited to 6 categories of offenses:

1. Crimes against national and international security,“moharebeh” (enmity with god) and “efsad e fel arz” (corruption on earth;)

2. defaming Ayatollah Khomeini and the Supreme Leader;

3. plotting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, armed action, terrorism, and sabotage;

4. espionage;

5. smuggling and drug-related crimes; 6. claims under Principle 49 (economic crimes) of the Constitution.

 6. Furthermore, pursuant to the Law on the Manner of Punishing Individuals Engaged in Unauthorized Audio and Visual Activities, Article 11, the revolutionary courts have jurisdiction over crimes that fall within the purview of said Law, including production and distribution of obscene materials and misuse and abuse thereof.

These courts continued, however, to try cases falling outside their jurisdiction, such as theft and sexual offenses. Further, the vagueness of laws regarding national security allowed the revolutionary courts to try political and media crimes whenever they wished to do so.

 

The new law eliminated the Prosecutor’s Office and gave the judges inthe Revolutionary Courts the power to perform the duties of the prosecutor, as well as their own, in any case brought before them.

 

Islamic Revolutionary Courts, 2002-Present

 

The Amended Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 2002 reinstated the Prosecutor’s Office in both revolutionary and general courts. In cases involving political and media crimes, revolutionary courts’ jurisdiction overlaps with that of Province Criminal Courts.

 

With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014, and its coming into force in June 2015, the jurisdiction of the revolutionary courts remains unchanged, with slight modifications in procedural aspects of adjudication. For instance, the new law provides that for crimes subject to the death penalty, life imprisonment, amputation, third degree, or higher, the revolutionary court shall convene with three judges, whereas, prior to the passage of this law, adjudication of all crimes within the jurisdiction of revolutionary courts took place with only a single judge.

The Appellate System of Revolutionary Courts, 1979-Present

 

From their inception until 1994, the rulings of the Revolutionary Courts were not subject to appeal. In the early 1980s a court entitled the Supreme Court of Qom was established in the city of Qom and which reviewed cases of execution and confiscation of properties, thereby forming a first tier form of appeal. The exact date of the creation of the court is not clear, but, based on available information, the court became operational in the early 1980s, even though Ayatollah Khomeini's official order for its creation is dated 1985. The court’s procedure was not systematic and did not meet the international standards for a court of appeals; there was no official record of its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Qom was dissolved in 1989.

 

The Law of 14 June 1994 subjected the Courts’ decisions to appeal. An appellate court was established at each provincial capital, called the Province Court of Appeals, composed of a three-judge panel, to review decisions made by the Revolutionary Courts. The Supreme Court was designated as the appellate authority for particular decisions, including those involving capital punishment.

 

Narcotic drugs-related crimes constitute a significant exception to the appeals process. Governed by the Anti-Narcotic Drugs Law of 1988, as Amended on 8 November 1997 and 31 July 3 2010, these crimes are within the jurisdiction of, and are adjudicated on a regular basis by, Revolutionary Courts whose decisions are final. After being handed down by the judge, death sentences are sent to the Prosecutor General or the Head of the Supreme Court as a matter of administrative approval.

 

With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014 (and its coming into force in June 2015), however, drug related crimes became subject to appeal as well.

General Courts, 1979-1982

 

In cases not falling under the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts, the system devised under the previous regime continued to function in parallel with new systems devised by laws passed by the Judicial Council, one of which, entitled The Legal Bill for the Establishment of General Courts of 11 September 1979, radically changed the entire structure and categorization of the courts. It divided the courts in three branches: Criminal, Civil, and Peace (a sort of arbitration court dealing with minor financial and other disputes). Specialized courts such as family courts were eliminated.

 

General Courts, 1982-1994

 

The Law of the Amendments to the Rules of Criminal Procedure of 1982 established a new criminal courts system, Criminal Courts I and II. Criminal Court I, established only in provincial capitals, had jurisdiction over more serious offenses, including those punishable by death, and Criminal Court II heard less serious crimes.

 

General Courts, 1994-2002

 

The Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 14 June 1994 established umbrella courts called General Courts, which replaced and dissolved pre-existing civil and criminal courts. The law dissolved the Prosecutor’s offices and tasked a single person with the roles of judge, prosecutor, and investigator.

 

General Courts, 2002-2015

 

In 2002, the 1994 Law was amended, reviving the role of the Prosecutor’s Office in General Courts. The prosecution offices were re-established in a gradual process over several years. The amended law also re-established specialized branches within general courts dealing separately with criminal and civil matters. In addition, this law allocated a number of branches of the Province Court of Appeals to have original jurisdiction over a number of cases including the most serious offenses, as well as political and media crimes. In these cases, the branches are called the Province Criminal Court.

 

General Courts, 2015 to Today

 

With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014 and its coming into force in June 2015, general courts underwent certain changes as well. Criminal courts were divided into Criminal Court One, Criminal Court Two, Military Court, Juvenile Court, and Revolutionary Court. Criminal Court One has jurisdiction over serious crimes such as those subject to the death penalty, life imprisonment, amputation, third degree, and higher, as well as political and media crimes. Criminal Court Two has jurisdiction over other crimes. Another change consists of the establishment of juvenile courts, which adjudicates crimes committed by individuals less than 18 years of age. In cases where the individuals less than 18 commit serious crimes such as those subject to the death penalty, however, Criminal Court One will have jurisdiction, observing rules of juvenile criminal procedure.

 

The Appellate System of General Courts, 1979-Present

 

The Legal Bill for the Establishment of General Courts of 11 September 1979, abolished appeal of most criminal courts’ decisions. The law of 1982 restricted the appeal possibility even further. According to the Islamic Republic authorities’ interpretation of Islamic Law, a qualified jurist’s decisions were not subject to appeal except under special circumstances, such as when the judge realized his own mistake, or another judge advised him so, or when he did not have jurisdiction over the case. Even in such situations, the case would not go to a higher court but would be subject to review by the same judge or another judge at his level. The judges were even urged to call their verdicts “opinions,” so that the possible change in the verdict would not be “haram” (“sinful,” the highest level of prohibition in Islam, disobedience of which would result in a sin).

 

In October 1988, the Majles (Iranian parliament) passed a law regarding review of court judgments. This law provided for an appeal if the conviction was claimed to be based on invalid documentation or false testimony. The defendant could also base an appeal on a point of law or a procedural violation.

 

The appellate system was expanded in other laws in the late 1980s and in 1993. The Law for the Establishment of Criminal Courts I and II of 11 July 1989 created the Branches of the Supreme Court. Crimes of less importance, tried in Criminal Court II, were subject to review by Criminal Court I.

 

For the most important crimes involving death punishment, which were under the jurisdiction of Criminal Court I, the law allowed limited appeal to the Branches of the Supreme Court. Defendants had the right to petition the Supreme Court for appeal in certain cases involving false testimony or procedural violations, and if granted, the case would be remanded to either another criminal court or the original one.

 

Finally, the Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 1994, as amended in 2002, established an appellate court at each provincial capital, called Province Court of Appeals, composed of a three-judge panel, to review decisions made by both general and revolutionary courts. The Supreme Court was designated as the appellate authority for particular decisions, including those carrying the death penalty, as well as decisions made by the Province Criminal Court.

 

The amended law of 2002, continued the appellate procedure to the Branches of the Supreme Court established by the afore-mentioned law of 11 July 1989

 

The Supreme Court continues to be the competent authority to rule on new trials, which have been provided for in limited circumstances.

With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014 and its coming into force in June 2015, the Court of Appeals shall be the competent authority to hear appeals from Criminal Court Two decisions, and the Supreme Court shall hear appeals from Criminal Court One decisions.

Special Courts for the Clergy

 

These courts are rooted in a 1979 decree, issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, which established a committee of religious and noble figures in every region to purge the clergy of anti-revolutionary elements under the supervision of the Revolutionary Courts. Between late 1981 and 1984, a special court in the city of Qom handled, though not systematically, the trial of clerics.

 

On 29 July 1987, Ayatollah Khomeini officially appointed a prosecutor and a member of the clergy as Shari’a judge for Special Courts for the Clergy. On 6 August 1990, a directive was issued regulating the conduct of these courts, the jurisdictional ambiguity of which is such that it effectively extends to “anyone where one of the parties is a cleric” and to “all matters in which the Court is designated as competent by the Supreme Leader.”

 

The court, which was not mentioned in the Islamic Republic's constitution, was mandated to try “pseudo clerics, those related to/connected with the clergy, for public and/or anti-revolutionary crimes, and violations of the prestige of the clergy,” and where the principal suspect is a member of the clergy, “any co-conspirator or assistant, whether a cleric or not.”

 

These courts are generally not open to the public and can issue sentences for all acts and omissions punishable under codified Iranian laws or Shari’a or for any other acts or omissions which can bring dishonor to the clergy or to the Islamic Revolution. Further, in certain particular cases – which have not been defined – where no punishment has been devised by either the Penal Code or even the Shari’a, the Court “can rule as it deems fit.” 

 

The Appellate System of the Special Court for the Clergy, 1979-Present

 

There is no information on any appeal process for the Special Court for the Clergy prior to the 1990 directive. Article 49 of said directive set up, however, an appeals court called Special Appellate Court for the Clergy, the head of which is appointed by the Supreme Leader, to which the decisions of the lower court can be appealed.

 

Military Courts

 

The military court system, independent from the judiciary under the previous regime, became a part of it on 1 December 1981. The Judiciary Organization of the Armed Forces, established in 1986, replaced and merged other military courts and tribunals in existence at the time, namely the pre-revolution Judiciary Organization of the Army, the Revolutionary Tribunal of the Army (established on 8 December 1979), and the Revolutionary and General Court for the Revolutionary Guards (established on 15 July 1979.) The Judiciary Organization of the Armed Forces has its own Criminal Code and follows the country’s general rules of criminal procedure.

 

The Law of the Criminal Procedure of the Armed Forces of 15 May 1985 created Military Courts I and II. Military Court I has jurisdiction over more serious offenses, including those punishable by death, and Military Court II hears less serious crimes.

 

The Appellate System of Military Courts, 1979-Present

 

The law of 8 December 1979, establishing the Revolutionary Military Court, did not provide for any appeals. The Law of 15 May 1985 created a system of appeals through the creation of a two-tier system of courts. The decisions of Military Court II were subject to review by Military Court I. This law also provided that multiple Branches of the Supreme Court be designated as the appellate court to review decisions of Military Court I.

 

The judges

 

1979-1997: Prosecutors and judges are not necessarily law graduates and jurists. Shortly after the Islamic Revolution, a five-member Committee was established to purge the judicial system of undesirable elements, pursuant to the Legal Bill for the Modification of the Judiciary and the Law for Hiring Judges of 8 March 1979. The power of the committee was absolute and its decisions, resulting in a widespread purge of the judiciary, final.

 

The Law for the Conditions of Selection of Judges of 4 May 1981 established the conditions of eligibility for judges. The latter were to be hired among men who were legitimate children and had practical commitment to Islam and allegiance to the Islamic Republic. The law, which led to the hiring of clerics and Islamic legal scholars, also allowed hiring practically anyone as a judge who could “obtain the Judicial High Council’s permission.” Moreover, Note 2 of the Amendments of 4 October 1982 to this law allowed widespread employment of seminary students “who ha[d] general knowledge equivalent to a high school diploma” as judges at prosecutor’s offices in general as well as Revolutionary Courts.  

 

By 1989, the judiciary counted about 2,000 new judges trained in theological seminaries (graduates and students) and political appointees, many having replaced judges trained in law schools.

 

1997-Present: As of this writing (2013) the Law for Hiring Judges and its amendments of 4 October 1982, 7 February 1987, and 9 May 1988 are in full force and form the basis for hiring judges. The Executive Rules of Procedure of 22 December 1997 subjected such hiring to passing an entrance examination and successful completion of an apprenticeship program, the duration of which ranges between one and two years. The law does not limit hiring to men only but does not specify in what capacity women will be functioning, other than an advisory one.

Currently, judges are selected in accordance with the Guidelines on the Recruitment, Selection, and Internship for Judicial Candidates and the Hiring of Judges.

 

Dismissal of Judges: From 1979 to 1989, the judiciary was run by the Supreme Judicial Council which was composed of the head of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General (both of whom were appointed by the Supreme Leader), and three judges elected by the entire body of judges in the country. The Council had the power to hire and dismiss judges in accordance with the law.

 

The constitutional reforms of 1989 substituted the Supreme Judicial Council with one person, the Head of the Judiciary. The Supreme Leader, whose mandate is not subject to popular vote, appoints the Head of the Judiciary for a 5-year term. The latter has significant power to influence the dismissal of judges. Dismissal cases are referred to three types of disciplinary courts, presided over by judges appointed by the Head of the Judiciary, who has veto power over any decisions made by the relevant courts.

 

Two of these courts, established in 1991 and 2011, are charged with examining the judges’ conduct from a religious and ideological standpoint. The process does not necessarily involve the defendant and the final decision, left to the Head of the Judiciary, is not subject to appeal.

 

Human rights violations

Based on the available information, the following human rights may have been violated in this case:

  • The right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the right to change and manifest one’s religion or belief.

UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 18.1, ICCPR, Article 18.2; Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Article 1 and Article 6.

In its general comment 22 (48) of 20 July 1993, the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee observed that the freedom to "have or to adopt" a religion or belief necessarily entailed the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one’s current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views, as well as the right to retain one’s religion or belief. Article 18, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief or to convert.

  • The right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.

UDHR, Article 19; ICCPR, Article 19.1 and ICCPR, Article 19.2.

  • The right to freedom of peaceful assembly. 

UDHR, Article 20; ICCPR, Article 21.

  • The right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of one’s interests.

UDHR, Article 20; ICCPR, Article 22.1.

  • The right, as a member of a religious or ethnic minority, to enjoy one’s own culture or to profess and practice one’s own religion. 

 

UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 27.

  • The right to equality before the law and the right to equal protection of the law. 

UDHR, Article 7; ICCPR, Article 26.

The right to due process

  • The right to be presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent and impartial tribunal in accordance with law.

ICCPR, Article 14.1 and Article 14.2.

Pre-trial detention rights

  • The right to know promptly and in detail the nature and cause of the charges against one.

UDHR, Article 9(2); ICCPR, Article 9.2 and Article 14.3.a

  • The right to counsel of one’s own choosing or the right to legal aid. The right to communicate with one’s attorney in confidence

ICCPR, Article 14.3.b and Article 14.3.d; Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 1, Article 2, Article 5, Article 6, and Article 8.

  • The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense case.

ICCPR, Article 14.3.b.

  • The right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess to guilt.

ICCPR, Article 14.3.g.

  • The right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1 and Article 2.

Trialrights

  • The right to a fair and public trial without undue delay.

ICCPR, Article 14.1, Article 14.3.c.

  • The right to examine, or have examined, the witnesses against one, and the right to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on one’s behalf under the same conditions as prosecution witnesses.

ICCPR, Article 14.3.d and Article 14.3.e.

  • The right to have the decision rendered in public.

ICCPR, Article 14.1.

Judgment rights

  • The right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction.

ICCPR, Article 14.5.

  • The right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence.

ICCPR, Article 6.4.

  • The right not to be tried or punished again for an offence for which one has already been 

convicted or acquitted. 

ICCPR, Article 14.7.

Capital punishment
  • The inherent right to life, of which no one shall be arbitrarily deprived.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 6.1; Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, Article 1.1, Article 1.2.

  • The right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1 and Article 2.

About this Case

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The execution of Mr. Mohammad Amin Hormozi, son of Judak, was reported by Kayhan and Jumhuriye Islami Newspapers, on November 1, 2006. Additional information on this case was gathered from Boroumand Foundation research and an interview with Kayvan Rafi’i, a human rights activist who had been this person’s cellmate in Evin Prison (May 21, 2015), and also from Payk e Iran website (October 30, 2006) and Delavar e Baluch weblog (October 27, 2007). Mr. Mohammad Amin Hormozi, a.k.a. Omran, has also been named Abdol Hamid Hormoz Zehi, Mohammad Amin Omar Zehi, Abdol Hamid Saravani, and Abdol Hamid Espandaki Saravani in different sources.  He was 25 years old, married, and came from the village of Espandak, around Saravan, in the Province of Sistan o Baluchestan.  He was a devout adherent of the Shafe’i sect of Sunni Islam, he was a sportsman, and he was fit and trim. Mr. Hormozi did not have much formal education.  He had been working as a day laborer, since his early youth.  According to available information, when he was twenty years old, he became acquainted with Abdol Malek Rigi, and together with several friends, they all went to “Faroughieh” (Binoria) Salafi Seminary in Karachi, Pakistan, where he studied for two years.  After that, he joined the Jondallah group and became its first military commander. Jondallah (Iranian People’s Resistance Movement) is a paramilitary group that was established in southeastern Iran in July 2003.  This group identified itself as the defender of the rights of the Baluchi Peoples, and ethnic minority in southeastern Iran. Their goals included protecting the culture of the Baluchi people, improving the socio-economic situation in Sistan o Baluchestan Province, and defending the religious rights of the Sunni minority in the Shi’a dominated government of Iran.  Since they used arms to achieve their goals, they became known as a terrorist group.  This group later changed its name to “Iranian People’s Resistance Movement”. Mr. Hormozi’s case was related to armed resistance and kidnapping several tourists in southeastern Iran. Jondallah Group issued a statement in response to the execution of Mr. Hormozi and several other Baluchi citizens.  In this statement they condemned these executions, and made known their intention to mount an armed response to avenge the executions.

Arrest and detention

Mr. Hormozi was arrested by security and police forces, three days after his wedding ceremony, in February 2004, in the village of Espandak, around Saravan.  At the time of his arrest, there were more than a thousand members of the security and police forces involved in this operation. After his arrest, he was detained at the Zahedan Security Office for several months. During this time he was subjected to severe torture and interrogation.  He was then taken to Section 209 of Evin Prison, in Tehran, where he spent two years.  According to Kayvan Rafi’i, a cellmate of Mr. Hormozi, he and two of his codefendants told terrifying stories of torture, assault and battery with lashings, during their time in the Zahedan Security Office.  They said there was a sign over the door of the interrogation room: “There is no God here”.  However, the living conditions of Mr. Hormozi and his codefendants in Evin Prison Section 209 were better than the other prisoners.  They had access to clothes (other than standard Prison clothes), religious books, and Jondallah Group anthems, and they were allowed to observe religious rites.  They offered their obligatory prayers together, memorized the Qur’an, and fasted in periods other than Ramadan.  They could meet with their families as a group, and their families could bring them particular items such as “toothbrush sticks”* and “nas”** narcotics.  At the same time, the prison officials and the interrogators had ideological conversations with Mr. Hormozi and other fanatical Sunni prisoners.  They gave them some Shi’a books, such as “Shi’a Answers to Questions”.  The officials had turned Mr. Mr. Hormozi and his codefendants’ cell into a center for torture.  They would torture these prisoners and secular prisoners by putting them in the same cell for extended periods of time.  In order to bother them, they would accuse the secular prisoners of doing things contrary to their religious beliefs, and would gossip about them. Mr. Kayvan Rafi’i stated that Mr. Hormozi was hostile, because of his neurological and mental problems. Being in the same environment with secular prisoners provoked him and bothered him (Interview with Kayvan Rafi’i and Boroumand Foundation Research, May 21, 2015). According to this witness, the prison interrogators repeatedly took advantage of Mr. Hormozi and other prisoners connected to Jondallah in contacting Abdol Malek Rigi and negotiating with him.  Kayvan Rafi’i, who had been Mr. Hormozi’s cellmate for a brief period, was witness to one of these exchanges.  He said he personally saw an interrogator bring a cell phone, take the prisoners out of the cell, give them the phone, tell them Abdol Malek Rigi was calling, and ask them to talk to him (Interview with Kayvan Rafi’i and Boroumand Foundation Research, May 21, 2015). The officials transferred Mr. Hormozi from Evin Prison to Zahedan, about ten days before his sentence was carried out. 

Trial

According to official reports, one of the branches of the Revolutionary Court of Sistan o Baluchestan Province tried Mr. Hormozi (Kayhan newspaper, November 1, 2006).  However, according to Mr. Rafi’i, who was his cellmate, Mr. Hormozi and two other defendants were tried in the Revolutionary Court of Tehran.  The prison officials transported them to court in three cars, with their eyes blindfolded.  After being held outside the Judge’s office for a while, they were called in.  The trial took about a minute.  The judge asked their names and pronounced that their sentence was death by hanging.  According to Mr. Rafi’i, Mr. Hormozi and the other two prisoners had said the judge and the court officials had treated them with disrespect.

 Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Hormozi was “waging war on God and spreading corruption on earth”. The details of the charges brought against Mr. Hormozi included using arms and military ordinance for disrupting the security of the country, kidnapping German, Dutch, and Irish citizens, deploying bombs, armed assault on a police Elegance Mercedes Benz, setting it on fire, and causing the death of three police officers and a bystander, membership in the “Abdol Malek” terrorist group, setting off bombs in Zahedan, armed assault on Khash Police Station, participating in stealing a utility office vehicle, and illegal cross border exit and entry.

Evidence of guilt

The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence providedagainst Mr. Hormozi.

Defense

During the court proceedings, which took one minute, Mr. Hormozi did not have a chance to defend himself, nor did he have an attorney to defend him. According to available information, during negotiations between security officials and Abdol Malek Rigi, which were carried out with the help of Mr. Hormozi and his codefendants, at least eight of them were freed with light bail bonds in the amount of 50 million tumans.  However, as a result of changes in the course of the negotiations, bail bonds for several other people, including Mr. Hormozi, were cancelled.

A Summary of the Legal Defects in the Adjudication of Mr. Mohammad Amin Hormozi’s Case

Mr. Hormozi was tried on the basis of the charge of Moharebeh (“waging war with God”) which carries the death penalty. According to available information and to sources with knowledge of the case, he did not have access to an attorney in the course of the trial, and whatever access he did have, was extremely limited. Pursuant to Iranian law, every defendant is entitled to be accompanied by an attorney in all stages of adjudication and to enjoy the services of counsel, whereas Mr. Hormozi was strictly and absolutely denied access to a lawyer during the time he was detained at the security forces detention center, and was also denied access to an attorney in the course of adjudication at the prosecutor’s office and at trial. This is thoroughly contrary to the law, since for the crime of Moharebeh with which Mr. Hormozi was charged, the presence of a defense attorney is mandatory. Pursuant to Article 186, Note 1 of the Law on the Rules of Criminal Procedure for General and Revolutionary Courts, “If in crimes for which the law has mandated the punishments of Qesas of life, execution, stoning, and life imprisonment, the defendant does not personally introduce an attorney, it is mandatory that a court-appointed attorney be designated for him.” Therefore, as this provision indicates, in the adjudication of the crime of Moharebeh, which is a capital crime, the presence of an attorney to defend the accused has been deemed mandatory. Not taking this provision into account would undoubtedly render the trial and the court’s decision null and void. The court’s action was entirely illegal and rendered the ruling, regardless of its substance, completely defective and without legal validity.

According to available information, Mr. Hormozi’s trial took place in a very short, closed door session, and his identity was the only thing that was asked and ascertained. It is simply unimaginable to be able to adjudicate in a short, single session, a criminal case where the defendant is alleged to have engaged in armed activities, kidnapped citizens of several countries, and played a role in bombings and sabotage. Surely the defendant could not have been able to defend himself against the charges in such a trial, and the ruling must have been issued based on reports submitted by the security apparatus.

According to published information, several of Mr. Hormozi’s co-defendants were released on low bail amounts within the framework of the negotiations [being conducted at the time] between security forces and Abdolmalek Rigi; the possibility of his release vanished quickly when the negotiations [derailed]. This shows, in and of itself, that rather than being adjudicated within the framework of the law, Mr. Hormozi’s case became subject to political and security-related issues, and that security officials played a considerable role in the issuance of the death penalty.

Mr. Hormozi was tortured after he was arrested and detained at the Zahedan Information detention center, whereas under Iranian criminal law and the Iranian Constitution, torture and harassment of the defendant is illegal and considered a crime, and confessions obtained in this manner are without credence and legal value.

Judgment

The court convicted Mr. Mohammad Amin Hormozi of “enmity with God” and sentenced him to death by hanging.  This sentence was approved by the high ranking judiciary officials. On Monday, October 30, 2006, Mr. Mohammad Amin Hormozi, who was wearing traditional Baluchi clothes, was hung in public, along with two other Baluchi citizens, on Bozorgmehr Street in Zahedan. A large group had gathered to witness this hanging.  According to a witness, the fact that the person being hung was wearing Baluchi clothes was considered an insult by the Baluchi Human Rights Activists.  Mr. Hormozi’s body was delivered to his family for burial.

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*Toothbrush stick is made from the Arak tree, and is used to massage the teeth (Dehkhoda Dictionary website).  The wood from this tree contains certain materials, including fluoride, and helps disinfect the mouth and protect against cavities and bleeding gums.  Some moslems follow the example of the Prophet of Islam, and use it to clean their teeth.

**Nas is a kind of narcotic, made from tobacco leaves and lime.  It is absorbed by the lining of the mouth, when placed between the lips and teethAmi, or under the tongue (Amid Dictionary).

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