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

Mehdi Rigi Javan

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim

Case

Date of Killing: December 31, 2007
Location of Killing: Central Prison, Zahedan, Sistan Va Baluchestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug trafficking

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Mehdi Rigi Javan, along with another person, was published on the websites of the Fars and IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) news agencies on December 31, 2007.

Arrest and Detention

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

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial.

Charges

According to the Revolutionary Public Prosecution Office, the charges against Mr. Mehdi Rigi Javan were announced as “purchasing, carrying, and possession of 59 kilograms of heroin.”

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. Thousands of alleged drug traffickers have been sentenced to death following judicial processes that fail to meet international standards. Scores of them were executed based on a 1989 law imposing mandatory death sentences on drug traffickers found in possession of specified amounts of proscribed narcotics (5 kg of hashish or opium, and more than 30 grams of heroin, codeine or methadone). The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of Guilt

The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against the defendant.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Rigi Javan’s defense.

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. Mehdi Rigi Javan to death and the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling. He was hanged in the Zahedan prison yard on December 31, 2007. Regarding this execution the Sistan and Baluchestan Court announced: “The judiciary acts decisively to deal with death dealers, seditious groups, and disruptors of security.”

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