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

Hossein Darvish

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: February 16, 1997
Location of Killing: Qasr Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Hossein Darvish and two other individuals was announced in the Kayhan newspaper on February 17, 1997.

Arrest and Detention

According to the Kayhan newspaper, the police identified the defendant as a person who would inherit from the victims and arrested him.

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial.

Charges

The charge against Mr. Hossein Darvish was announced as “two counts of 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 Islamic Republic authorities have brought trumped-up charges against their political opponents and executed them for alleged 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

According to the newspaper report, “On February 27, 1996, an old woman and an old man died in a fire in Shahrak Emam. The police identified [the defendant as] a person who stood to inherit from the victims. It was disclosed that he spent the previous night in their house. [The defendant] confessed to the interrogator that in order to achieve his goal [inheritance], he shot and killed his aunt and her husband and set their bodies ablaze.”

International human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its systematic use of torture to obtain confessions from detainees and have questioned the authenticity of confessions obtained under duress.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Hossein Darvish’s defense.

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. Hossein Darvish to death and, after the ruling was confirmed by the Supreme Court, he was hanged in the presence of the secretary of the Special Complex for Executions, the Qasr prison warden, the victim’s family, and the forensic team on February 16, 1997.

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