Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Hossein Rahimi

About

Age: 36
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: April 12, 1979
Location of Killing: Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Possession of arms; Corruption on earth

About this Case

The information about Sergeant Hossein Rahimi, son of Vali, is based on an electronic form sent to Omid by a person close to him. News of his execution, along with seven others, was reported in the Kayhan newspaper on April 12, 1979 and in the Amnesty International report of March 1980. The Amnesty report lists 438 defendants who were convicted by Revolutionary Tribunals in the period from their inception until August of 1979. The list of victims and charges is drawn from sources including translations of indictments, reports of trials carried out by local and foreign media and the bulletins of the official Pars News Agency.    

Sergeant Hossein Rahimi was born in Aligudarz in 1943. He was a sergeant major of Gendarmerie and a station commander. He was married and worked for the Tavanir (Iran Electrical Power) Company. After the revolution, he was first arrested on suspicion of being a SAVAK (Shah’s secret police) member. But he was released two days later because his name was not on the list of SAVAK members.   

Arrest and detention

According to the information sent to Omid, a few weeks after the revolution Sergeant Hossein Rahimi went to the Tavanir Company in Ahvaz to receive his unpaid salary. But, the head of accounting and some of his coworkers who had joined the Islamic Revolutionary Committee beat him up and arrested him, claiming that he had escaped. He was first taken to the old Ahvaz prison, later named the Security Building of Khuzestan. Then, he was transferred to the Karun prison in Ahvaz where he was told by authorities: “Don’t be hasty! Now every boy has a gun and they may shoot and kill you. It’s best if you stay for a while. We will let you go as soon as the situation is calm.” During a visitation with his family at the Karun prison, Mr. Rahimi stated that he was promised to be released but expressed concerns about his continuous detention.  

Trial

According to the information sent to Omid and the Kayhan newspaper report, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz tried Sergeant Hossein Rahimi and three others at the Shirokhorshid Building on April 11, 1979. This was the first post-revolutionary court in this city. That night before the trial session began, authorities told the defendants’ families that the trial had been postponed until the next day. In the face of families’ disbelief, they provided a Quran and vowed that the trial had been postponed. However, the trial was convened in the presence of plaintiffs. Mr. Rahimi’s family, whose house was located about 500 meters from the court, heard the gun shots the next day at dawn.  

Charges 

According to the information sent to Omid, the charges brought against Mr. Rahimi were “carrying an illegal weapon, demonstration for the Shah while drunk, participation in the Black Wednesday, and creating public fear and intimidation.”  

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial. 

Evidence of guilt 

No information is available concerning the evidence presented against Mr. Rahimi in the Kayhan report. However, according to the information sent to Omid, five individuals, none of them acquainted with him, testified against him during the trial.    

Defense

According to the information sent to Omid, quoting a photographer of the Kayhan newspaper, Sergeant Hossein Rahimi was not allowed any defense. According to those who were close to Mr. Rahimi, he had permission to carry the weapon due to his job as a security officer. Also, he was seen by several witnesses preventing military forces from attacking his friends’ shops during the Black Wednesday when the Shah’s soldiers allegedly killed some demonstrators on January 17, 1979. 

Judgment 

According to the Kayhan report, after a few hours deliberation, the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Ahvaz called Sergeant Hossein Rahimi and three other individuals “corruptors on earth” and condemned them to death.  All four individuals were shot by a firing squad in the back yard of the Shirokhorshid Building in Ahvaz at 4:25 a.m. on April 12, 1979. Later, some nurses who worked at the Army Hospital located behind the court and execution place, told Mr. Rahimi’s wife that they could hear cries of the defendants who pleaded innocence. Sergeant Rahimi was buried at the Behesht-e Abad cemetery in Ahvaz the same day.  

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