Reza Rasaei, a detainee from the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, has been executed by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary. Rasaei was accused of murdering a Revolutionary Guard commander based on forced confessions and was sentenced to death. His execution was carried out without notifying his family or allowing them a final visit.
Execution Without Notice
News sources reported the execution of Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei, a detainee from the 2022 nationwide protests. Fatemeh Heidari, a family member of the protesting victims of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, announced the news on Twitter. She wrote that Rasaei’s family was not informed prior to the execution nor were they allowed a final visit. They were told to bury Rasaei’s body in a remote location.
Forced Confessions and Torture
Rasaei, a 34-year-old member of the Kurdish ethnic and religious minority, was arrested on November 18, 2022, during the anniversary ceremony of the death of Seyyed Khalil Aalinejad, a figure of the Yarsan religion. During the ceremony, people chanted slogans against the government, and Nader Birami, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence in Sahneh county, was killed in a clash with the people.
About a week after this event, on November 18, 2022, intelligence officers arrested Rasaei in Shahr-e Rey, Tehran province, accusing him of involvement in the assault on Bayrami. Initially, he was taken to Sahneh county and then transferred to Dizelabad prison in Kermanshah after the interrogation process.
Several other detainees from the November 18 protests in Sahneh county were also accused of murdering the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence in the county. However, some of them were acquitted of the charges. It was said that there was no credible evidence to suggest that the Revolutionary Guard commander was killed by Rasaei.
Unfair Trial and Sentencing
The Islamic Republic’s judiciary, based on confessions obtained under torture, sentenced Rasaei to death for direct involvement in the intentional murder of Nader Bayrami, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence in Sahneh county, Kermanshah province. Mohammad Rasoul Haq-Nejati, the judge of the Kermanshah Criminal Court One, issued the initial death sentence for Rasaei, among other things, based on forced confessions obtained from him during interrogation. This sentence was communicated by the second branch of the Kermanshah Criminal Court One on October 7.
Despite the fact that, according to the Dabban media report, the indictment issued by the court of first instance had numerous formal and substantive flaws, the seventeenth branch of the Supreme Court, headed by Judge Barani, also confirmed the death sentence.
Iran’s Continuous Human Rights Violations
The Islamic Republic’s judiciary has so far executed at least nine other protesters from the Jina uprising, including Mohsen Shekari, Majidreza Rahnavard, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Mohammad Qobadloo, Saleh Mirehashemi, Saeed Yaghoubi, Majid Kazemi, and Milad Zahrehvand, from December 2022 to May 2023. In addition, at least 48 people are at risk of receiving and executing a death sentence for participating in the protests.
United Nations human rights experts have warned about the issuance of death sentences following unfair trials that result in “arbitrary deprivation of life” in the case of detained protesters and have condemned it. According to Amnesty International, “several defendants have been tortured” and their “forced confessions” have been used as evidence.
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