Wednesday, 24th June 2020 / The Supreme Court of the country upheld the death penalties of Amir Hossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi, 3 citizens of Tehran, currently imprisoned in brigade 5 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary who were arrested in protesting rallies in mid-November 2019. These sentences were previously issued by branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court against these citizens, and these sentences were communicated today to the lawyers of these prisoners after the confirmation.
According to Human Rights in Iran, today on Wednesday, 24th June 2020, Amir Hossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi, 3 citizens residing in Tehran and the detainees of protesting rallies in mid-November 2019 who have been kept in brigade 5 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of the state. These individuals were initially accused by branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over Abolghassem Salavati of “participation in the destruction and arson attacks against the Islamic Republic”, “participation in armed robbery at night”, and “illegal exiting the country”.
In an interview with the reporter of Human Rights in Iran, a credible source said: “The death sentences issued by branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court against Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammed Rajabi, 3 of the detainees of mid-November protests have been confirmed by the Supreme Court and announced to the lawyers of them. The lawyers are trying to change the verdicts by pleading for a retrial.”
On February 19, 2020, Amir Hossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi, 3 detainees of mid-November protesting rallies were sentenced to death by branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, headed by judge Abolghassem Salavati, on charges of participation in destruction and arson attacks against the Islamic Republic, participation in armed robbery at night, and illegal exiting the country, in addition they were sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison and 222 lashes, which the verdicts were communicated to the lawyers of these prisoners.
Amir Hossein Moradi had participated in protest gatherings held in Sattar Khan area of Tehran on November 16, 2019, and after being identified by CCTV (closed circuit television) and traffic control cameras at the streets, was detained by the security forces on November 19, 2019. After being transferred to the solitary confinement, was interrogated in security detention 240 and security ward 209, and after the intensive and violent interrogation process, he was brutally transferred to brigade 5 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary.
After the arrest of Amir Hossein Moradi, on November 20, 2019, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi and another person named Shima R, left Iran and entered Turkey to apply for asylum. After arriving in Van, they went to Ankara and then to Antalya, but before arriving in Antalya, the taxi driver handed them over to the Turkish police at the entrance of the city and they were arrested. Appearing at the Antalya security police, they applied for asylum, claiming that their lives would be in danger if they returned to Iran due to their participation in the November protests in Tehran and the arrest of their friend Amir Hossein Moradi. There, the Turkish police identified a woman as a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to speak to them, and they provided them with all their identity documents and the videos of rallies and text messages about the arrest of Amir Hossein Moradi. The translator conveyed the case in Turkish to a person who had been identified as a UN representative. However, the country’s police initially told them that if they wanted to stay there, they would have to stay in a camp for about a year, and said their requests would be considered. Finally, on December 26, 2019, a few days after the visit of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani to Ankara, the Antalya police arrested them on the pretext of transporting them to another city with a handcuff on a bus, and 2 days later without giving them any water and food, transported them to the Turkish city of Agri near the Iranian border, and on December 28, 2019, police officers deported them to Iran along with about 30 others, entering Iran through Bazargan Border. After arriving in Iran and attending the Iranian inspection gate, these persons were arrested and transported to the Maku security police to receive the necessary inquiries, however, Maku security police officers told them that since their arrest warrants had been issued on behalf of the security forces in Tehran, they would have to wait for the agents to come to Maku to take them to Tehran. When they were handed over to the security forces, they were transferred to Tehran and the security police detention center in Gisha (near Tehran). After the interrogation, they were transferred to Evin Prison.
After being interrogated and charged, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi were transferred to Greater Tehran Penitentiary, where they remained in custody, however, Shima R, one of the defendants of the case was released on bail pending trial.
Also on January 4, 2020, Mohammad Rajabi was temporarily released on a bail of 500 million Tomans until the completion of the case, but following a call on January 19, 2020, he was summoned to branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, and was transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary on order of the judge Abolghassem Salavati.
In most cases, the extrajudicial and arbitrary detention of citizens and civil activists with vage and trumped-up accusations is in the line of suppression of Freedom of Expression and opinion, which in International Instrument of Human Rights, in Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on December 16th 1966, there is emphasis on not suppressing of the individuals because of Freedom of Expression and opinion. Regarding the Principle of Freedom of Expression, every individual has the right to express his/her opinions and viewpoints in any way possible, without considering border restrictions.
Article 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that the accused should be informed of the charges and provided access to a lawyer as soon as possible. Other defensive rights are mentioned in law, but extrajudicial actions taken by the security services violate the laws that they themselves drafted and claim to be enforced.
Also the individuals’ right to a fair trial is one of the inalienable rights accentuated in Article 10 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Hoghoghebashar.iran 