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

M M

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Unknown
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: May 26, 2010
Location of Killing: Yazd, Yazd Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug trafficking; Drug possession

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. M. M., along with three others, was published on the websites of Yazd Provincial Courthouse on May 30, Afghanistan Information Network and the English website of Ariana on May 29, 2010. According to Ariana, these four defendants were Afghans; however, there is no mention of their nationality on the website of Yazd Provincial Courthouse.

Arrest and Detention

There is no specific information on the defendant’s arrest and detention.

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial. This trial took place in Branch Three of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Yazd.

Charges

The charge against Mr. M. M. was announced as "participation in transporting narcotics."

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

According to the website of Yazd Provincial Courthouse, the evidence presented against the defendant was “transportation of 170 kilograms of opium and 125 kilograms of heroin.”

Defence

No information is available on the defendant's defence. According to the Afghanistan Information Network, quoting Abdolraman, the father of one of the defendants, his son had gone to Iran for work two years earlier. He was neither an addict nor a drug dealer. Iranian police arrested and executed him without any proof.

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. M. M. to death and confiscation of his belongings, except for his family’s cost of living. The ruling was confirmed by the General Public Prosecutor’s Office. The request for reduction of punishment was denied by the Pardon Commission of the judiciary and he was hanged in the central prison of Yazd on May 26, 2010. According to the Ariana website, the bodies of this defendant and three other Afghans were given to the Afghan officials at the border.

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