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

H. B.

About

Age: 20
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: April 21, 2011
Location of Killing: Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Homosexual rape; Murder
Age at time of alleged offense: 17

About this Case

 News of the execution of Mr. H. B., along with three others, was published on the website of the Hormozgan Courthouse on April 21, 2011, quoting the Public Relations Office of the Hormozgan Courthouse, IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) on April 21, 2011, in the Sobhe-Sahel newspaper on April 23 and 24, 2011, and in the Neday Hormozgan newspaper on April 23, 2011. Additional information was taken from the Amin-e Jame’eh website on January 17, 2009.

Mr. H. B. was single and 17 years old when the incident occurred. His case was related, along with that of two other defendants, to the rape and murder of a 15-year-old boy at Dolat Park in Bandar-e Abbas on November 29, 2008.

International laws have strictly prohibited capital punishment against those who were under the age of 18 at the time of committing the crime. As a party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has the obligation to avoid capital punishment for an offence committed before the age of eighteen.

Arrest and detention

Mr. H. B. was arrested, along with two others, as a follow-up by the inspector of Branch One of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the police several months after the incident (Hormozgan Courthouse). Agents of the Criminal Intelligence Police of the Hormozgan Province participated in his arrests (Amin-e Jame’eh). However, the circumstances of his arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

Branch One of the Criminal Court of Hormozgan tried Mr. H. B. and two other defendants. No information is available on his trial.

Charges

According to the Public Relations Office of the Hormozgan Courthouse, the charges brought against Mr. H. B. and two other defendants were collectively announced as “rape (sodomy) and murder.” According to reports, these three defendants took the victim to Dolat Park and raped him after drinking alcoholic beverages. Then they suffocated him with a belt and dropped his body in the sea (Hormozgan Courthouse).         

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 authorities have brought trumped-up charges, including drug trafficking, sexual, and other criminal offences, against their opponents (including political, civil society activists, as well as unionists and ethnic and religious minorities). 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 and executed based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of guilt

The evidence presented against Mr. H. B. was his “confession” and the confession of his collaborators.

International human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its systematic use of severe torture and solitary confinement to obtain confessions from detainees and have questioned the authenticity of confessions obtained under duress.

Defense

Mr. H. B. was under 18 years old when the crime was committed and he was under the influence of alcoholic beverages. No information is available on his defense.

Judgment

Branch One of the Criminal Court of Hormozgan condemned Mr. H. B. to death, and the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling and the Head of Judiciary validated it. He was hanged, along with three others, in public near Dolat Park in Bandar-e Abbas on April 21, 2011. 

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