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

Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani

About

Age: 52
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: May 8, 1979
Location of Killing: Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: War on God, God's Prophet and the deputy of the Twelfth Imam; Murder of persons and/or killing Muslims or/and freedom fighters; Fighting against the revolution/blocking the path of God; Corruption on earth; Torture

About this Case

From Parliament, representing Mahabad, to the Rastakhiz Party and on to cabinet-level ministerial posts, Dr. Ameli Tehrani (an anesthesiologist) was falsly accused of “participation in mass murder of people.”

The execution of Dr. Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani, along with 20 other individuals, was announced in the Kayhan newspaper on May 8, 1979. He is one of 438 victims listed in a March 13, 1980 Amnesty International report. The report lists defendants who were convicted by Revolutionary Tribunals in the period from their inception until 12 August 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 reports. Additional information has been sent to Omid via an electronic form by an individual familiar with this case.

Dr. Ameli Tehrani, an Anesthesiologist, started his political career as an elected member of the Parliament to represent the people of Mahabad (West Azarbaijan province) in 1967. He was appointed as a secretary of the Rastakhiz party in 1974. In the autumn of 1977, he became the assistant to the secretary-general of the party and in January 1978, he was appointed the deputy of the secretary-general of the party. He resigned from his position in July 1978 and started working as the Information and Tourism Minister in the cabinet of Sharif Emami. Later, he was appointed the Education Minister in the military government of Azhari (Nov. 8, 1978 – Jan. 7, 1979).

The Rastakhiz Party was established in 1974 as a single party, after the abolition of such parties as Novin and Mardom. The regime at the time announced membership in Rastakhiz to be the civil duty of all citizens. The main principles of Rastakhiz were: loyalty to the Constitution, the Monarchy, and the goals of the White Revolution. The latter was a series of reforms, launched by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919-1980) in order to improve the economic and social situation in the country. Land reforms and women’s suffrage were at the center of the White Revolution. Among other reforms of the White Revolution were combating illiteracy and the formation of “Army of Knowledge” and “Army of Health,” which added a component of civil service in remote areas to the compulsory military service.

Arrest and detention

No information regarding the defendant's arrest and detention is available.

Trial

The Kayhan report contains no information regarding the defendant’s trial other than he was tried at Branch 3 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, although the newspaper printed the charges against and defense of Mr. Ameli Tehrani.

Charges

The indictment has not been published. The newspaper story does not specify the personal charges against Mr. Ameli Tehrani; it only mentioned the collective charges brought up against him and 20 other individual: “being at war with God and God’ propher, and insulting the Emam, torture and cruelty towards the public, participation in mass murder of people”. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Ameli Tehrani was chared with: corruption on earth; war on God, God’s prophet and the representative of the Twelfth Imam; torture; mass murder; insulting the religious groups, insulting Muslim prisoners, insulting the pure clergymen and trying to discredit them by calling them communists; slander and injury against people.

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 executed individuals on trumped up charges such as 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 on the evidence presented against Mr. Ameli Tehrani however the Judge’s arguments and Mr. Ameli Tehrani’s defense suggest that his ministry at the Azhari cabinet was used an evidence against him.

Defense

The judge, having pointed out to the curfew and “murders” perpetrated my army officials, in which Mr. Ameli Tehrani was allegedly involved, asked him to defend himself. Mr. Ameli Tehrani replied: “the curfew applies when… non-military forces are not sufficient. I was not responsible for the curfew. I was in a state committee that started its work after the curfew bill was passed. I was against it and I expressed my opposition to the state committee and asserted that people must not be target of shootings. He also added that the mobilization of armed forced in one area was beyond his power and that he had no authority with regards to the curfew.

Concerning the break-out of fire, the details of which were not mentioned in the newspaper story, he asserted: “It was people who set [buildings] on fire. But SAVAK agents were definitely involved as well… In order to investigate the case, I traveled to Kerman and asked the head of the SAVAK and the mayor to resign… I was only a small part of the system and the regime; and I fought it as much as it was possible for me.”

Judgment

The Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Tehran found Dr. Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani, as well as 20 other individuals, “corruptor on earth” and condemned him to death. These 21 persons were executed by a firing squad in Tehran on May 8, 1979 at 5 a.m.

 

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