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

Ali Zia'olmaleki

About

Age: 26
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Shi'a)
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: 1988
Location of Killing: Maragheh, Azarbaijan-e Sharqi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Unknown charge

About this Case

The information regarding Mr. Ali Zia’olmaleki’s execution was sent to Omid via an electronic form by a person familiar with the case. Mr. Zia’olmaleki, born and residing in Maragheh, Azarbayejan-e Sharqi, was a sympathizer of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization. He had been arrested once in February 1982 before being rearrested and executed. The form does not mention the reason behind his first arrest and subsequent release.

Arrest and detention

No specific information is available on Mr. Zia’olmaleki's arrest and detention. Mr. Zia’olmaleki was arrested in June 1988 in Maragheh. He was detained at the Maragheh Detention Center and was denied visitation and access to an attorney.

Trial

The circumstances that led to this defendant's execution are unknown. However, relatives of political prisoners executed in 1988 refute the legality of the judicial process that resulted in thousands of executions throughout Iran. In their 1988 open letter to then Minister of Justice Dr. Habibi, they argue that the official secrecy surrounding these executions is the proof of their illegality. They note that an overwhelming majority of these prisoners had been tried and sentenced to prison terms, which they were either serving or had already completed serving, at the time they were retried and sentenced to death.

Charges

No charge has been publicly leveled against the defendant. In their letters to the Minister of Justice (1988), and to the UN Special Rapporteur visiting Iran (February 2003), the families of the victims refer to the authorities' accusations against the prisoners; accusations that may have led to their execution. These accusations include being "counter-revolutionary, anti-religion, and anti-Islam," as well as being "associated with military action or with various [opposition] groups based near the borders."

An edict of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, reproduced in the memoirs of Ayatollah Montazeri, his designated successor, corroborates the reported claims regarding the charges against the executed prisoners. In this edict, Ayatollah Khomeini refers to the PMOI's members as "hypocrites" who do not believe in Islam and "wage war against God" and decrees that prisoners who still approve of the positions taken by this organization are also "waging war against God" and should be sentenced to death.

Evidence of guilt

No information is available regarding the evidence presented against the defendant.

Defense

In their open letter, the families of the prisoners note that defendants were not given the opportunity to defend themselves in court. Against the assertion that prisoners were associated with guerillas operating near the borders, the families submit the isolation of their relatives from the outside during their detention: "Our children lived in most difficult conditions. Visits were limited to 10 minutes behind a glass divider through a telephone every two weeks. We witnessed during the past seven years that they were denied access to anything that would have allowed them to establish contacts outside their prisons' walls." Under such conditions the families reject the claim of the authorities that these prisoners were able to engage with any political group outside Iran.

Judgment

No sentence was issued publicly. Mr. Zia’olmaleki was executed in the summer of 1988, in the city of Margheh.

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