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

Abdorrahim (Rahim) Sediqi

About

Age: 26
Nationality: Afghanistan
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: May 10, 2009
Location of Killing: Birjand, Khorasan-e Jonubi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Unspecified offense

About this Case

was executed on the charge of kidnapping only on the testimony of witnesses.

Information about the execution of Mr. Abdorrahim (Rahim) Sediqi, son of Abdolkarim, was obtained through Abdorrahman Boroumand Center interviews with his brother, Abdul Nasser Sediqi, on June 22 and 24, 2016, April 7, 2017, May 2 and 19, 2018.

Mr. Sediqi was married with three children. He was born to an Afghan father and an Iranian mother in the Pahwaz camp located in Birjand County, Southern Khorasan Province. Mr. Sediqi was a livestock farmer in Tighab village, Faraah province in Afghanistan. He was very interested in sports, especially soccer. Mr. Sediqi died at the age of 26.

According to interviewee, Mr. Sediqi had an Iranian birth certificate and traveled to Iran regularly to visit his aunt and uncle who resided in Iran. His last trip to Iran was due to the purchase of an apartment unit in Birjand and the legal affairs related to the registration of its deed.  

Arrest and detention

According to available information, Mr. Sediqi arrested in Birjand County. No information is available on the date and manner of his arrest.

During the detention, Mr. Sediqi only made one telephone call to his family, and his only visit to his mother occurred five months after his arrest and was carried out behind a glass divider. Mr. Sediqi’s brother believes that he was tortured during his detention.

Trial

No information is available on Mr. Sediqi's trial.

Charges

Mr. Sediqi was charged with “kidnapping”.

The validity of the criminal charges brought against these defendants cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial. 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

According to interviewee, Mr. Sediqi was innocent and he was convicted only on the testimony of witnesses. One of the witnesses who testified against Mr. Sediqi was the person who was in the apartment with him for the transfer of the deed and received 150 million Rials from Mr. Sediqi and later claimed that he was kidnapped by Mr. Sediqi.

Because Mr. Sediqi’s family were in Afghanistan, they sold their sheep and paid 800 million Rials to a person to hire an attorney for Mr. Sediqi in Iran. Not only did he fail to hire a lawyer for Mr. Sediqi, but he also himself testified as one of the witnesses against Mr. Sediqi.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Sediqi’s defense.

A Summary of the Legal Defects in the Adjudication of Mr. Abdorrahim Sediqi’s Case

Pursuant to Article 621 of the Islamic Penal Code, “anyone who personally or through a third person, kidnaps or hides another for the purpose of demanding money or property, getting revenge, or for any other purpose, by force or by way of threats, trickery, or by any other means, shall be sentenced to five to fifteen years imprisonment…” In view of the provisions of this Article, the sentence of death issued in Mr. Sediqi’s case was unlawful if the sole charge brought against him was kidnapping. In certain cases, however, it has been observed that the defendant is charged with other crimes such as [sexual] harassment of the victim in addition to kidnapping, or use of weapons in the commission of the crime of kidnapping; said defendant is then tried on the charge of “Moharebeh” (“waging war with God”) and “Efsad fel-Arz” (“spreading corruption on Earth”) and sentenced to death based on that theory. The Islamic Penal Code defines Moharebeh as the use of weapons for the purpose of causing apprehension and fear in the public. These types of crimes, that is, crimes that lack a specific definition and well-defined parameters regarding [the particular] criminal conduct, are contrary to the Principle of Legality and contrary to the principles of criminal law. The result of the existence of such [broadly defined] crimes in Iranian law is that 

Judgment

Mr. Abdorrahim (Rahim) Sediqi was sentenced to death by a court in Birjand County.

Mr. Sediqi was executed on May 10, 2009. There is no information available on the exact location of his execution.

Several days after Mr. Sediqi's execution, his body was handed over to his family and was buried in a village called Jarg in Faraah province in Afghanistan.

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