Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

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One Person’s Story

Nosrat Goel (Koel) Tali’i

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Judaism
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: July 3, 1980
Location of Killing: Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Unspecified execution method
Charges: Prostitution and/or procuring; Drug trafficking; Corruption on earth

About this Case

was arrested instead of someone else. Her “trial” was held immediately and she was executed a few hours later.

The news of the execution on Mrs. Nosrat Goel (Koel) Tali’i, daughter of Ozra and Janjan, along with 13 other people* was published in Keyhan and Jomhury-e Eslami newspapers on July 5, 1980. Additional information regarding this execution was obtained through BBC Persian website (February 11, 2018), Mohsen Kadivar’s website (October 1, 2016), Akhbar-e Ruz website (May 4, 2008), Shahyad Magazine in Israel, and the archive of Ettela’at (July 5, 1980), Keyhan (July 5, 1980), and Enqelab-e Eslami (July 5 and 12, 1980) newspapers.

Mrs. Goel Tali’i was a Jewish resident of the city of Shiraz and worked in a women’s hair salon. She was married with four children and expecting her fifth child when she was arrested (Akhbar-e Ruz website). According to her family, Mrs. Goel Tali’i has “spent all her life laboring hard to help her family make ends meet” (Mohsen Kadivar’s website).

Mrs. Goel Tali’i’s case was related to sexual and drug offenses in 1979 in Shiraz.Mrs. Goel Tali’i has spent all her life laboring hard to help her family make ends meet.

Background of July 3, 1980’s executions in Shiraz

Since the Friday Prayer Imam in the city of Shiraz (Seyed Abdolhossein Dastgheib) and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Fars Province (Mas'ud Khatami) were not satisfied with the judgments made by a local religious judge, on July 3, 1980, the Friday Prayer Imam in the city of Shiraz sent a telegram to Ayatollah Khalkhali, who was the religious judge and head of Islamic Revolutionary Court for drug-related crimes, requesting that Khalkhali travel to Shiraz to review judicial cases. In his message, he wrote: “No one has been given a revolutionary execution in Shiraz, and this is a disgrace to Shiraz.” Ayatollah Khalkhali entered Shiraz before noon that day and went directly to the Revolutionary Guards camp, went to Adelabad Prison with a number of armed guards, and brought 23 prisoners before a revolutionary tribunal. Those individuals were previously tried by the religious judge in the city of Shiraz and sentenced to imprisonment or were still in the process of prosecution (Akhbar-e Ruz and Mohsen Kadivar websites). A woman named Zahra was supposed to be tried along with those 23 prisoners (Akhbar-e Ruz website).

Arrest and detention

On July 3, 1980, the Revolutionary Guards’ officers in Shiraz arrested Mrs. Goel Tali’i in the hair salon where she worked. After being arrested, she was immediately transferred to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Headquarters in Shiraz (Jomhury-e Eslami newspaper, Akhbar-e Ruz website).

Mrs. Goel Tali’i was not allowed to visit her father, mother, husband or children after being arrested (Mohsen Kadivar website).

The court tried Mrs. Goel Tali’i and 23 others until 11:00 PM, and all sentences were implemented by 12:00 PM.

Trial

On the afternoon of July 3, 1980, Ayatollah Khalkhali, the religious judge and head of the Special Islamic Revolutionary Court, tried Mrs. Goel Tali’i and 23 others at the same time at the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Headquarters in Shiraz. According to available reports, the proceedings continued until 11:00 PM, and all sentences were implemented by 12:00 PM (Akhbar-e Ruz website).

The trial court for all 24 defendants lasted about nine hours, and this session was held without the presence of a lawyer and without defendants being able to access judicial records (Mohsen Kadivar website).

Charges

Official newspapers cited different charges for Mrs. Goel Tali’i. The Jomhury-e Eslami newspaper counted “operating an opium den and drug trafficking” as Mrs. Goel Tali’i’s charges. Meanwhile, charges reported by Ettela’at newspaper were “corrupting girls and selling them to men”, and in the Kayhan newspaper “operating house of debauchery and drug trafficking” (Mohsen Kadivar website quoting Ettela’at newspaper, July 5, 1980, page 3 and Kayhan newspaper, July 5, 1980, the last page).

The validity of the criminal charges brought against these defendants 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. Each year Iranian authorities sentence to death hundreds of alleged common criminals, following judicial processes that fail to meet international standards. The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

“Statements made by one of the Revolutionary Guards against her” were used as the sole evidence to prove Mrs. Goel Tali’i’s charge.

Evidence of guilt

“Statements made by one of the Revolutionary Guards against her” were used as the sole evidence to prove Mrs. Goel Tali’i’s charge. According to the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Shiraz, the religious judge thought that the guards arrested a certain Mrs. Zahra, and asked Mrs. Goel Tali’i: “[Are you] Zahra? Mrs. Goel replied: “I am not Zahra, I am Nosrat Goel. Who is Zahra?” Mr. Khalkhali said: “[You can] go.” When Mrs. Goel Tali’i wanted to go, one of the guards whispered to Khalkhali that she herself made prostitutes available by phone [i.e. operated a den of corruption]. Khalkhali told her to come back right away and executed her immediately” (Akhbar-e Ruz website).

Defense

Based on available information, Mrs. Goel Tali’i was arrested and tried in someone else’s place. According to the former commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Shiraz, “a prostitute in Shiraz named Zahra was arrested, gave a bribe of one million [tomans] and was released. The guards’ officers reported the matter to Khalkhali. Khalkhali ordered that she be brought back. The officers went to bring Zahra, but could not find her: either she was hiding or gone. The officers knew it was a bad thing not to be able to find her. So, they went to a hair salon and took this woman [Mrs. Goel Tali’i] and told Kalkhali that she was Zahra” (Akhbar-e Ruz website).

Mrs. Goel Tali’i’s so-called trial was held immediately after her arrest and did not comply with the minimum principles of procedure. No information is available on whether public prosecutors were present, whether an indictment was brought against her at the trial, and whether Mrs. Goel Tali’i was granted the opportunity to defend herself.

Judgment

On July 3, 1980, Ayatollah Khalkhali, the religious judge and head of the Special Islamic Revolutionary Court, sentenced Mrs. Nosrat Goel (Koel) Tali’i to death and confiscation of property. The sentence was implemented immediately.

About 12 PM on July 3, 1980, Mrs. Nosrat Goel (Koel) Tali’i was executed along with 13 other people by firing squad in the Revolutionary Guards camp in Shiraz (Jomhury-e Eslami newspaper, Akhbar-e Ruz website, Mohsen Kadivar website, quoting Ettela’at newspaper, July 5, 1980, page 3).

According to available information, Mrs. Goel Tali’i was pregnant at the time of the execution.

Mrs. Goel Tali’i’s body was delivered to her family several hours after the execution. The Shiraz Jewish community arranged a remarkable funeral for Mrs. Goel Tali’i (Mohsen Kadivar website).

Reactions to Mrs. Nosrat Goel (Koel) Tali’i’s execution

Less than 12 hours after the executions, in a speech before Friday prayers on July 4, 1980 at the Vakil Mosque in Shiraz, Ayatollah Khalkhali stated: “We asked the Revolutionary Prosecutor of Shiraz for the casefiles in the Revolutionary Court. Unfortunately, those casefiles were not disclosed to us, so we [tried and sentenced] based on the [available] casefiles in prison or in the hands of the Revolutionary Guards, and based on witnesses’ and impartial persons’ statements. In my opinion, there was no need to review their casefiles… It was my human and Islamic responsibility, and I have done my job in accordance with religious law” (Mohsen Kadivar website, quoting Enqelab-e Eslami newspapers, July 5, 1980, No. 295, page 10).

Ayatollah Mahallati referred to July 3, 1980’s executions in Shiraz as “the shameful killing in Shiraz.”

Following the execution of Mrs. Goel Tali’i, her family prepared a complaint and handed it to Ayatollah Bahaeddin Mahallati, one of the Marjas (religious references) in Shiraz, asking for his support and assistance. According to the letter: “Now, with the fullest frustration and sorrow, and with the utmost despair and disappointment, we bring you our legal complaint, our protest, and our declaration that a crime has occurred, hoping to investigate this heinous and unprecedented act and this fearsome crime and to punish the wrongdoer. Let’s put it aside that this oppressed woman had no guilt or fault and has been sentenced to death without having a case or criminal record in the Revolutionary Court” (Mohsen Kadivar website).

After reading this complaint, Ayatollah Mahallati sent a letter to Ayatollah Khomeini on July 16, 1980, in which he referred to July 3, 1980’s executions in Shiraz as “the shameful killing in Shiraz.” “Do you know how this gentleman [Ayatollah Khalkhali] killed 14 people in less than 10 hours, in his own words, without a trial or reading their cases?” wrote this Marja in his letter. He continued: “Though he did not even allow them to visit their families? And it is very unlikely that a person who can kill people like that, is not lying in what he reports and is not giving you false information” (Mohsen Kadivar and BBC Persian websites).

Moreover, Association of Iranian Jurists in Shiraz, in a letter to the president, expressed their objections about the executions ordered by Ayatollah Khalkhali (Mohsen Kadivar website, quoting Ettela’at newspaper, July 5, 1980, page 3).

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* (1) Brigadier General Ali Asghar Dehpanah, (2) Daryush Beyza'i, (3) Colonel Ghazanfar Bahmanpur, (4) Naser Zolqadr, (5) Abdolrasul Voldan, (6) Mahmud Dadbud, (7) Manuchehr Adibpur, (8) Habib Fili (Pili), (9) Hossein Aghzabi, (10) Hossein Zeynali, (11)  Haj Baba Rahimi, (12) Ahmad Rezai', and (13) Mozafar Dashtbani were among the people who were executed along with Mrs. Nosrat Goel (Koel) Tali’i.

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