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 About
Age — Nationality Iran Religion Presumed Muslim Civil status — Education university diploma Occupation engineering and science professional Rank/Position — Institution — Institution armed group, Marxist revolutionary
Case Date of execution June 22, 1996 Location Tehran, Iran Mode of execution unspecified execution method Charges Unknown charge Case Remarks
In an August 1996 news release, Amnesty International reports a dramatic increase in the number of executions in Iran. The case of Mr. Ahmad Bakhtiari is reported in the release as follows:
“The worldwide organization has recorded up to 70 executions so far in 1996; there were about 50 recorded throughout 1995. The true figure may be much higher, as the organization believes many executions which are carried out are never reported. Of these 20 per cent have been of political prisoners, convicted on charges such as membership of, and activities on behalf of, opposition groups and espionage. Amnesty International is concerned that many, if not most, of these trials were unfair.
Some of those executed have reportedly included people sentenced to death several years ago. For example, Ahmad Bakhtiari, (a member of the People’s Fedaiyan Organization of Iran [Minority] was arrested in February 1992 and sentenced to death in January 1993 in a trial where he had no lawyer. This death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court, which returned the case to a lower court where he was again sentenced to death in 1994. Following confirmation by the Supreme Court, and a rejection of his plea for clemency from the General Amnesty Board, he was finally executed on 22 June 1996.”
The report provides no information regarding the charges nor the evidence presented against Mr. Bakhtiari.
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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, the following human rights have been violated in this case:
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The inherent right to life, of which no one shall be arbitrarily deprived, and the right to liberty and security of the person.
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 to freedom of religion and thought.
UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 18.1, ICCPR, Article 18.2; Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Article 1 and Article 6.
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The right to freedom of opinion and expression.
UDHR, Article 19; ICCPR, Article 19.3.
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The right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1 and Article 2.
The right to due process :
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a. The right to access one's file and the right to know in detail and exactly the charges against one.
UDHR, Article 9(2); ICCPR, Article 9.2 and Article 14.3.a.
b. The right to be presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent and impartial tribunal in accordance with law. ICCPR, Article 14.1 and Article 14.2.
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c. The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense case.
ICCPR, ICCPR, Article 14.3.b.
d. The right to counsel or legal aid. ICCPR, Article 14.3.d ; Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 1 , Article 2 Article 5 , Article 6, Article 8.
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e. The right to a fair and public trial.
ICCPR, Article 14.1.
f. 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.
g. The right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess to guilt. ICCPR, Article 14.3.g.
h. The right to have the decision rendered in public. ICCPR, Article 14.1.
i. The right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction. ICCPR, Article 14.5.
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