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 About
Age 28 Nationality Iran Religion Islam (Sunni) Civil status Married Education — Occupation writer and/or journalist Rank/Position — Affiliation civil society organization
Case Date of execution August 4, 2008 Location Zahedan Prison, Iran Mode of execution hanging Charges Sympathizing with anti-regime guerilla groups About this Case
The execution of Mr. Ya’qub Mehrnahad was announced on August 4, 2008 on the website of Human Rights Activists in Iran and the Iranian Students News Agency of Sistan and Baluchestan province. Additional information has been drawn from his own weblog (mehrnehad.blogfa.com), Amnesty International reports (Feb. 12 and Mar. 12, 2008), the Amirkabir University (Tehran Polytechnic) Students’ Forum News (AUTNEWS Feb. 11, Feb. 20, Aug. 5, 2008), Radio Balooch website (Sweden, Feb. 9, 2008) and Norooz News (Aug. 6, 2008).
Mr. Merhnahad, a 28-year old father of three and an ethnic Baluch, was a journalist and a civil society activist. He was the head of the Voice of Justice Young People’s Society, an organization founded in 2002 and registered by the National Youth Organization (a state agency). The Society’s mandate includes education and assistance to the disadvantaged. It provides courses and professional training. It also focuses on discrimination issues and accountability.
The Organization holds an annual meeting called “Questioning Youth, Accountable Authorities” in April/May during which social problems are discussed with local authorities. Members of the Central Council of the Society are elected every year by the Society’s members. Mr. Mehrnahad was elected the executive director of the Society for three consecutive terms. He was also a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Mardomsalary [Democracy] newspaper (AUTNEWS, Feb. 11, 2008).
Mr. Mehrnahad’s stated goal was to eliminate what he believed to be the root causes of violence, which characterizes his region. He called for social justice, accessible education, and end to discrimination. He rejected violence and promoted activism within the legal framework. He believed that “the only way to provide security is through justice, eradication of poverty and discrimination and unemployment” (his blog, Feb 28, 2007). Therefore, in 2006, he attempted to run for the City Council in Zahedan but his candidacy was rejected (his blog, Dec. 9, 2006). Mr. Mehrnahad, who attributed the authorities’ rejection to his campaign for human rights and transparency, did not give up promoting rights and non-violence:
“I believe that the right to freedom of expression and freedom of thought and defending human rights while respecting other people’s rights and dignity and while maintaining security and public order are my religious and legal duties … Some expected that by rejecting [my] candidacy, they would attract young people into the arena of violent struggle…but they ignore the fact that young people are too aware and know how to fight for their ideals without violence. We will pursue a wide scale struggle against monopoly and tyranny by rejecting violence. We are convinced that the future is ours and we will succeed acting with wisdom and rejecting violence because if the oppressed use violence as do the oppressors, there is no difference between them” (his blog, Dec. 12, 2006).
According to Norooz News, Mr. Mehrnahad was first arrested in March/April 2007 for “having written an article on his blog, criticizing the authorities of Sistan and Baluchestan province and calling for their resignation or dismissal.” The date of his release from prison is not known.
At the time of Mehrnahad’s second arrest, his 16-year old brother, Ebrahim, and three other members of the Voice of Justice Young People’s Society were also arrested. They were all released after a few months of detention.
Arrest and detention
Mr. Ya’qub Mehrnahad was arrested at the annual meeting “Questioning Youth, Accountable Authorities” in early May 2007. Some state officials were reportedly present at this meeting. There were various irregularities during his detention. Mr. Mehrnahad was detained for 5 months in various detention centers of the Ministry of Intelligence and had no contact with his family or attorney. He was then transferred to Zahedan’s central prison where he was held for another two months. His first visit with his family probably took place in this prison, 5 months after his arrest. He was tried on December 25, 2007. Instead of receiving his sentence, expected 10 days after the trial, he was returned to the detention center of the Ministry of Intelligence to be interrogated again; he was again denied visits. ( AUTNEWS, Feb 11, 2008).
On February 19, 2008, “Ya’qub Mehrnahad’s family was allowed to visit him for 10 minutes after 50 days [of not having any visits] (AUTNEWS, Feb. 20, 2008). During visits, Mr. Mehrnahad stated that he was pressurized to confess to the alleged charges. His family noticed that he had been tortured; he had lost a lot of weight and was unable to keep his balance (AI, Feb. 12, 2008). In one of the visits, they were warned against speaking Baluchi; they had to speak in Farsi (AI, Mar. 12, 2008).
Trial
Mr. Mehrnahad was tried on December 25, 2007 at the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Zahedan, without the presence of jury, his attorney, and his family (AUTNEWS, Aug. 5, 2008). Amnesty International stated that it was an “unfair trial conducted behind closed doors” (AI, Feb. 12, 2008).
Charges
Mr. Ya’qub Mehrnahad was charged with “membership in and cooperation with the terrorist group of Jondallah” (ISNA).
Jondallah is an armed group calling for the respect of the rights of the Baluchi people, who make up 1-3 percent of the Iranian population and who are mostly Sunni Muslims. Jondallah has carried out a number of armed attacks against Iranian officials and has sometimes taken hostages and killed them. Iranian officials have accused its members of drug trafficking and many have reportedly been executed as such (AI, Feb 12, 2008).
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
No information is available concerning the evidence presented against the accused.
Defense
Mr. Mehrnahad was tried without the presence of his attorney. During a visit with his family, he reported to be under pressure to confess. He had stressed that “the objective of such pressures were to cover up the truth and the fact that he was prosecuted for his civil activities” (AUTNEWS, Aug. 5, 2008).
Judgment
The Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Zahedan found Ya’qub Mehrnahad guilty of “being at war with God and corruption on earth through cooperation and membership in the terrorist group of Jondallah” and sentenced him to death. The verdict was delivered to his family on February 7, 2008. On February 11, the spokesperson of the Judiciary stated that Mr. Mehrnahad could appeal this verdict (AUTNEWS, Feb. 20, 2008).
The appeal was scheduled on 17 February though, by law, defendants have a minimum of 20 days to prepare their appeal. (AI, Feb 12, 2008).
Based on the available information, the authorities pressured and intimidated Mr. Mehrnahad’s family when they attempted to contact attorneys in Tehran and publicize the case in the media. They promised his family that the sentence would be commuted (AUTNEWS, Aug. 5, 2008)
The Supreme Court approved the death sentence, however. Mr. Ya’qub Mehrnahad was hanged, along with another individual named Abdonnaser Taheri Sadr in Zahedan’s central prison on August 4, 2008.
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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.
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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.
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The right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the right to change and manifest one’s 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 to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.
UDHR, Article 19; ICCPR, Article 19.1 and ICCPR, Article 19.2.
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The right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade union for the protection of one’s interests. UDHR, Article 20; ICCPR, Article 22.1.
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The right, as a member of a religious or ethnic minority, to enjoy one’s own culture or to profess and practice one’s own religion.
UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 27.
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
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.
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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