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 About
Age — Nationality Iran Religion Presumed Muslim Civil status — Education — Occupation — Rank/Position — Affiliation —
Case Date of execution February 14, 1989 Location Tabas, Iran Mode of execution hanging Charges Drug trafficking About this Case
The execution of Mr. Isa Azad, son of Ramezan, along with 67 other individuals, was announced in the communiqué No. 5 of Iran Drug Control Headquarters, and published in the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on February 15, 1989.
The communiqué cautions: “This is another warning to those who continue their criminal activities, thinking this plan will be discontinued after awhile. They dream of continuous import and distribution of narcotics among our people, benefiting only the international powers. However, they must know that this fight will continue until this corruption is uprooted by God’s will and power. Once again those who are involved in this business of death are warned to stop their actions against the Islamic nation and begin an honest life. Otherwise, the Islamic Revolutionary courts will act decisively to try and condemn them to death as corruptors on earth and the rulings will be carried out immediately without any compassion for these traders death. Also, all the public places, hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops are warned to avoid serving such people and, if they recognize anyone, they must report him to the security forces. Otherwise, they will be treated harshly according to the law.”
Arrest and Detention
The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known.
Trial
No information is available on the defendant’s trial.
Charges
The charges against Mr. Isa Azad were announced as “continuous participation in dealing and distributing of narcotics, specifically more than 40 kilograms of opium, and having a record of previous convictions for distribution of narcotics.”
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 Islamic Republic authorities have brought trumped-up charges against their political opponents and executed them for alleged drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences. Thousands of alleged drug traffickers have been sentenced to death following judicial processes that fail to meet international standards. The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.
Evidence of Guilt
The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against the defendant other than what was stated in the Announcement against 68 defendants: “These merchants of death collectively distributed 13 tons of opium, 315 kilograms of heroin, 92 kilograms of hashish and 10 kilograms of morphine. Also, a total of two RPG7’s with 17 ammunition, 34 combat weapons, and 530 bullets were recovered from them.”
Defense
No information is available on Mr. Azad’s defense.
Judgment
The Islamic Revolutionary court of Tabas (today in Yazd province, previously in Khorasan province) condemned Mr. Isa Azad to death as a corruptor on earth. He was hanged in public on February 14, 1989 in Tabas.
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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... Detentions, interrogations, and trials: 1989-1993
Read about the conditions in which individuals were detained, tried and sentenced. Pre-trial detentions
The accused, including political dissidents, were arrested and detained for months without trial, and sometimes without being informed of the charges against them. Detainees were routinely subjected to torture in order to coerce confessions of guilt. A single individual, the judge, was in charge of both the investigation and the interrogation.
Trials
Trials, particularly in the cases of prisoners of opinion, were held in camera. Despite the fact that a 1991 law authorized the presence of a defense attorney, there was no evidence that defendants were permitted access to legal counsel.
Appeal processes
The judgment of the revolutionary court was not subject to appeal. A 1988 law gave defendants tried by penal courts a right to appeal to the Supreme Court in certain circumstances, such as in cases of false testimony or procedural violations. However, if the appeal was accepted, the case was retried by the penal court--not a higher court. Executions were often carried out shortly after the judgment.
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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 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 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. -
The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence 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. -
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 defence through an attorney 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 prosecution witnesses.
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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