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

Ahmad Jamrasi

About

Age: 39
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: October 31, 2007
Location of Killing: Qom, Markazi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Rape

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Ahmad Jamrasi was published on the websites of Fars News Agency and IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) on October 31, and the Iran newspaper on November 1, 2007.

Arrest and Detention

According to the Iran newspaper, quoting the Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor’s Office of Qom, the unconscious and half dead body of a girl was taken to the hospital on June 24, 2007. The father of this girl made a complaint against a neighbor. Then, the investigator of Branch Three issued the arrest warrant for the neighbor and his temporary wife. He was arrested on June 27, 2007.

Trial

The trial took place in the Punitive Court of Tehran Province.

Charges

The charges against the defendant were announced as “acts against chastity and child molestation.”

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 Iran newspaper, “the girl regained consciousness after two days and confirmed the neighbor man as the perpetrator of this crime.” According to the media reports, the defendant confessed to his crime several times in court and in front of the judges and stated, “I knew that my wife was going to leave the house early that day. The night before, therefore, I planned to bring the neighbor girl home and did according to my plan after my wife left.” Recovery of pictures and movies stored in his cell phone, in addition to having a record of previous convictions and addiction were also some of the evidence provided against the defendant.

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

According to the Iran newspaper, “after being arrested, the defendant claimed that one his friends molested the girl.”

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. Ahmad Jamrasi to death and the ruling was confirmed by Branch 33 of the Supreme Court. He was hanged in public at the Nabovat Square in Qom on October 31, 2007.

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