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 About
Age 77 Nationality Iran Religion Judaism Civil status — Education — Occupation — Rank/Position — Affiliation —
Case Date of execution February 25, 1994 Location Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran Mode of execution unspecified execution method Charges Espionage About this Case
The information on the execution of Mr. Mekhubad was released in an October 1994 United Nations' report prepared by Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in a communication by the Iranian government to the UN Special Representative. (A/49/514, 14 October 1994 and A/49/514/Add.2, 4 November 1994). Further information was drawn from a May 1995 Amnesty International report entitled “Official secrecy hides continuing repression.”
Arrest and detention
Based on the available informationو Mr. Mekhoubad had been imprisoned in Evin Prison since May 1992 . The UN Special Representative refered to reports based on which “Mr. Mekhoubad was denied visits while in Evin prison, apart from very exceptional occasions, that he was effectively denied any legal defense following threats against lawyers who had been willing to assist him, and that he was kept in solitary confinement for prolonged periods”. He also noted that Mr. Mekhoubat was severely tortured reportedly for having denied the charges against him. “When his body was recovered, his face showed signs of severe disfigurement, notably swelling attributable to blows, further attested to by missing teeth and bruises in several places on his face”. Other reports of torture are mentioned in Amnesty International’s report regarding Mr. Mekhoubad: “during the last six months of his imprisonment he had been flogged on his back, limbs, and face, and had been beaten repeatedly, resulting in the loss of some teeth and a bruised face.” In its response to the UN inquiries, the Iranian government denied the allegations of torture against Mr. Mekhoubad.
Trial
No information is available on the defendant’s trial.
Charges
charged with espionage for the USA and Israel.
Evidence of guilt
According to Amnesty International, the charges against Mr. Mekhoubad “were reportedly based on telephone conversations he had with relatives and family members based in these two countries.” The defendant’s confessions may also have been used against him.
Defense
No information is available on Mr. Mekhoubad’s defense. However, Amnesty International noted that his arrest and execution may have been linked to “his religious beliefs and participation in activities within the Jewish community in Tehran.” The Special Representative further reported information based on which “Mr. Mekhoubad had asked expressed the wish to retract a former confession, extracted under torture, before his execution”.
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Judgment
The Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal did not make the verdict against Mr. Mekhoubad public. Whether or not his body was returned to his family is not known. In its communication to the UN Special Representative, the Iranian government confirmed that the defendant was executed:” for espionage and sabotage and that his corpse had been buried in a Jewish cemetery according to the Jewish faith.” Based on the information received by Amnesty International, both his eyes were gouged out. The Iranian government did not respond to Amnesty International’s inquiries regarding Mr. Mekhoubad’s trial and judgment.
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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 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 not to be punished for any crime on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time it was committed. UDHR, Article 11.2; ICCPR, Article 15, Article 6.2.
The right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the right to change and manifest his or her religion or belief. 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.
In its general comment 22 (48) of 20 July 1993, the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee observed that the freedom to "have or to adopt" a religion or belief necessarily entailed the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views, as well as the right to retain one's religion or belief. Article 18, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief or to convert.
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The right, as a member of a religious or ethnic minority, to enjoy his or her own culture or to profess and practice his or her own religion.
UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 27.
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The right to equality before the law and the right to equal protection of the law.
UDHR, Article 7; ICCPR, Article 26.
The right to due process
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.
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 the right to legal aid. The right to communicate with one’s own attorney in confidence ICCPR, Article 14.3.b and 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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The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense case.
ICCPR, Article 14.3.b.
The right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess to guilt. ICCPR, Article 14.3.g.
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The right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
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 14.1, Article 14.3.c.
The right to defense through legal assistance of his or her own choosing or legal aid. The right to examine, or have examined, the witnesses against one and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on one’s behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him. ICCPR, Article 14.3.d and 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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