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 About
Age 43 Nationality Iran Religion Presumed Muslim Civil status — Education — Occupation — Rank/Position — Affiliation —
Case Date of execution August 10, 2005 Location Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran Mode of execution hanging Charges Murder About this Case
Mr. Akbar’s (last name unknown) execution has been announced in the Sharq and Iran newspapers on August 3, 2005, Hamshahri, and the website of Iran on August 11.
Arrest and detention
According to Sharq, a man complained to the police station of Feiz Park, number 140, that his belongings were stolen from his vehicle. The matter was communicated to the patrol police. The police were patrolling the area when a van attracted their suspicion. The police followed the van and ordered it to stop. The van parked next to an under-construction building and the defendant ran out of the van and entered the building. The officers surrounded the building. The fugitive shot towards them, causing the death of a police officer. Other officers entered the building, and arrested the man, who was wounded.
Trial
No information is available on the defendant’s trial other than after issuance of the verdict of Branch 1602 of Tehran Criminal Court, with the appeal of the defendant, the case was sent to Branch 4 of the Supreme Court (Sharq).
Charges
Mr. Akbar was charged with murder. Iran announced: “On February 3, 2002, [the defendant] shot a police officer with a hunting gun at midnight.”
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 the Islamic Republic’s authorities have brought trumped-up charges against their political opponents and executed them for drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences. The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.
Evidence of guilt
According to Hamshahri, the defendant confessed to the killing of a young police officer and added that the same day he intended to steal tires and he had already stolen some. During the investigation, it was disclosed that the defendant had a criminal record of several armed robberies, attacking the police, and had been arrested and imprisoned previously. The Iran newspaper mentioned that his gun was discovered at the time of arrest.
Defense
No information is available on the defense. According to Hamshahri, Mr. Akbar stated that he shot the officer who followed him only to scare the police away and he did not intend to kill the officer.
Judgment
Branch 1602 of Tehran’s Criminal Court condemned Mr. Akbar to death and 13 years imprisonment and the Supreme Court approved this ruling. Mr. Akbar was hanged in Evin prison on August 10, 2005.
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Human rights violations in this caseThe legal context
Read about the courts, the judges, and the procedure. The courts
Special courts, known as the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunals, were set up after the February 1979 revolution. Their jurisdiction encompasses a wide array of offences ranging from association with or support of the former regime, promotion of foreign influence, and enmity with the revolution to possession, use or sales of narcotic drugs, murder, and profiteering. In the 1980s, a penal court, presided over by one judge, was created to handle some of the offenses punishable by death, such as theft or adultery. These tribunals’ decisions must be confirmed by a chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council.
The judges
Prosecutors and judges are not necessarily jurists. By 1981, the judiciary was purged of judges trained in law schools. They were replaced by seminary graduates and students, as well as by political appointees (an estimated 2000 by 1989). Since by law judges are only required to have a high school diploma and must be faithful to the Islamic Republic’s tenets, new recruits often have little formal training in the law and are chosen because of their political affiliation.
The procedure
The procedures of these ecclesiastical tribunals fail to meet the minimum guarantees for fair trial as established by international human rights instruments and by sha’ria (the Islamic system of law). In addition to executions ordered by revolutionary tribunals, extra-judicial executions are carried out, targeting dissidents and opposition leaders. In some cases, both inside and outside of Iran, these executions have been traced back to Iranian officials. It is, however, not known if in these particular cases trials are held in absentia.
Sources (Among others): Amnesty International, Law and Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, February 1980; Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, The Justice System of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1992; E/CN.4/1989/26 p.14; UNCHR, Resolution 1984/54 , Abolition of Torture - Iran - 1; 28 November 1984; Report on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special Representative of the Commission, Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, 28 January 1987. Amnesty International, A SHOCKED WORLD WATCHES IN DISBELIEF, VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS, 1987-1990. Memoirs of Ayatollah Khalkhali, religious judge and former head of revolutionary tribunals (2001), and Ayatollah Montazeri, dismissed successor to Ayatollah Khomeini (2001). UNCH, E/CN.4/1994/50, Final report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran prepared by the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, pursuant to Commission resolution 1993/62 of 10 March 1993 and Economic and Social Council decision 1993/273. E/CN.4/1994/50, 2 February 1994.
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 close... Based on the available information, some or all of the following human rights may have been violated in this case:
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The right to liberty and security of the person. The right not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 9.1.
The right to due process
Pre-trial detention rights
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The right to know promptly and in detail the nature and cause of the charges against one.
UDHR, Article 9(2); ICCPR, Article 9.2 and Article 14.3.a
The right to counsel of one’s own choosing or legal aid and the right to meet with one’s attorney in confidence
ICCPR, Article 14.3.d;
Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 1 , Article 2, Article 5, Article 6, and Article 8. -
The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense case.
ICCPR, Article 14.3.b; Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 8%viol_bprl_8%..
The right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess to guilt.
ICCPR, Article 14.3.g. -
The right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
UDHR, Article 5; ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1, and Article 2.
Trial rights
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The right to a fair and public trial without undue delay.
ICCPR, Article 9.3, Article 14.1, Article 14.3.c.
The right to examine, or have examined the witnesses against one and to obtain the attendance and examination of defense witnesses under the same conditions as witnesses for the prosecution. ICCPR, Article 14.3.e.
The right to have the decision rendered in public.
ICCPR, Article 14.1.
Judgment rights
Capital punishment
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The inherent right to life, of which no one shall be arbitrarily deprived.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 6.1; Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, Article 1.1, Article 1.2.
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The right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1 and Article 2.
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