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

Esma'il Mirza'i

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: August 1, 1980
Location of Killing: Kerman Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Unspecified execution method
Charges: Robbery; Corruption on earth

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Esma'il Mirza'i and another person was reported by the correspondent of the Jomhuri Eslami daily in Kerman (August 4, 1980).

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

There is no information available on the defendant’s trial.

Charges

Based on the report, Mr. Mirza'i was charged with having committed “repeated robberies in Tehran, Varamin, and Kerman” and also “the fact that he was imprisoned several times before the Revolution.”

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 against their political opponents and executed them for drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences. 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 based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of guilt

The report referred to the defendant’s “clear confessions” but did not specify the circumstances or the contents of the confessions.

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

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Mirza'i's defense.

Judgment

The Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Kerman, “after hours of examination and deliberation,” declared Mr. Mirza'i a “corruptor on earth” and a “disturber of order and security” and sentenced him to death. The sentence was carried out at 6 p.m. on the same day.

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