According to reports from state news agencies, the death sentence of Qaem Hosseini, an Afghan national and one of the defendants in the political case stemming from the January Protests in Isfahan, was carried out today at Dastgerd Prison. These media outlets have accused him of participating in the killing of four members of state forces, without the text of the verdict or evidence subject to independent evaluation having been made public.
Qaem Hosseini was tried together with 11 other defendants in a collective and closed session. This case was marked by ambiguity surrounding the charges and the individual responsibility of the defendants, denial of effective access to counsel of their choosing, reports of torture and the extraction of forced confessions, and the non publication of the judicial rulings.
Hana emphasizes that neither the rights of the accused nor any of the essential guarantees of a fair trial, guarantees that are recognized even under the Islamic Republic’s own domestic law, were respected in this case. The carrying out of the death penalty following such a process constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life.