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

Hassan Nafar

About

Age: 43
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: May 8, 1979
Location of Killing: Qasr Prison, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: War on God, God's Prophet and the deputy of the Twelfth Imam; Unspecified anti-revolutionary offense; Murder of persons and/or killing Muslims or/and freedom fighters; Fighting against the revolution/blocking the path of God; Corruption on earth; Torture; Collaborating with the political police SAVAK

About this Case

Information regarding Mr. Hassan Nafar’s execution was drawn from an electronic form (Eform) which a person close to him sent the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation (ABF), his will, and a report by Kayhan Daily on 8 May 1979.

Mr. Nafar was the Head of Hamzeh Team which was a common patrol team of SAVAK (the intelligence organization under the Shah). He had 4 children. According to a person close to him, he was a kind family man. Even now, years after his death, everybody remember him as a good soul (ABF Eform).

Arrest and detention

On 26 March 1979, Mr. Nafar was arrested by the Revolutionary Committees in Tehran. He had gone to a bank to take care of a personal issue. One of the bank clerks recognized him and kept him there with delusive excuses until the Revolutionary Committees arrived and arrested him. They presented no arrest warrant but Mr. Nafar’s name was on a blacklist which was given to the banks by the Revolutionary Committees. He was detained incommunicado for 34 days. His family was unaware of his arrest for several days. They found out through one of their relatives who used to work at the prison that he was arrested and detained in Qasr Prison (ABF Eform).

Trial

The Revolutionary Tribunal of Tehran tried Mr. Nafar along with 21 others on 7 May 1979 (Kayhan).

Charges

Mr. Nafar’s charges are not individually clear. Kayhan Daily reported that generally all the 22 people who were tried including Mr. Hassan were charged with “waging war on god and the 12th Imam, torture, cruelty and persecution of people, and participation in mass murders”. In this report, there is no mention of the victims’ name or the location of the massacres.

Evidence of guilt

The report on this execution does not mention any evidence.

Defense

There is no information available about Mr. Nafar’s defense. It is, however, clear from the report of his execution that he did not enjoy the minimum standards of due process such as access to the legal assistance of an attorney. For example, a person close to Mr. Nafar reported that his trial along with 21 others only lasted 30 minutes and at the same session, they were told that they were going to be executed in order for them to write their wills (ABF Eform).

In his will: “Be aware that I did not kill anyone and I am innocent. I am only the victim of jealousy and libel. I leave the judgments to God…”

Mr. Nafar denied the murder and persecution charges. He addressed his family in his will: “Be aware that I did not kill anyone and I am innocent. I am only the victim of jealousy and libel. I leave the judgments to God…” According to a person close to him, Mr. Nafar believed that he did not do anything which deserved the rage of the revolutionists: “We did nothing wrong, we are the soldiers of this country; we just did our jobs…” Mr. Nafar also mentioned: “I saw forbidden books in the youths’ hands several times. I only confiscated the book and advised them…” This person close to him narrated a story in which Mr. Nafar and his colleagues in the team could defuse a bomb which was planted in a stadium and could save thousands of people’s lives. Mr. Nafar was so sure about his innocence and he could not imagine being executed (ABF Eform).

Judgment

The Revolutionary Court of Tehran declared Mr. Nafar along with 21 others guilty of “corruption on Earth” and condemned them to death on 7 May 1979. The verdict was carried out by a firing squad on 8 May 1979 at 5 a.m. (ABF Eform). The officials had ordered that their bodies could only be buried in Section 41 of Tehran Cemetery, Behesht Zahra. They also forced the family to pay 22,000 tomans (which was a high amount at the time) for the cost of the bullets that killed Mr. Nafar (Kayhan, ABF Eform).

Mr. Nafar requested to be buried in Shah Abdol’azim’s Shrine, which is a religiously respected place in Tehran Province, but the officials did not allow the family to do so. His funeral was held in the presence of the Revolutionary Guards and the members of the Revolutionary Committees. According to the person close to him, even now (in 2012), after 32 years since Mr. Nafar’s execution, the government’s agents still break all the gravestones in Section 41 of the cemetery once in a while (ABF Eform).

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