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

Mehdi Fatahi

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: February 25, 2015
Location of Killing: Tabas, Khorasan\Khorasan-e Razavi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug trafficking

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Mehdi Fatahi was published on the websites of HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency) on February 25, and Khorasan newspaper on February 26, 2015. According to the existing reports, he was born in Torbat-e Heydarieh.          

Arrest and Detention

According to HRANA, Mr. Fatahi was arrested and transferred to the Tabas Central Prison in 2011. According to the Khorasan newspaper, quoting an informed source, he was arrested for the second time. However, there is no specific information on his arrest and detention.

Trial

Mr. Fatahi was tried in Tabas. However, no information is available on his trial. 

Charges

According to HRANA, the charge against Mr. Fatahi was "dealing 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. Scores of them were executed based on a 1989 law imposing mandatory death sentences on drug traffickers found in possession of specified amounts of proscribed narcotics (5 kg of hashish or opium, and more than 30 grams of heroin, codeine or methadone). The exact number of people convicted based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of Guilt

The evidence presented against Mr. Fatahi was having multiple records related to dealing narcotics.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Fatahi's defense.    

Judgment

The Tabas Court had condemned Mr. Mehdi Fatahi to 15 years imprisonment; however, after his appeal, the sentence was increased to death. After the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling, he was hanged in the presence of the judicial and security officials at the Tabas Prison yard on February 25, 2015 at dawn.           

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