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

Hashem Hamidi

About

Age: 16
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: May 5, 2011
Location of Killing: Unknown
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Murder
Age at time of alleged offense: 16

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Hashem Hamidi and four other prisoners was published by various sources including Ahwaznews (May 7, 2011,) Al Arabieh (May 8, 2011,) the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (May 15, 2011,) and Amnesty International (May 23, 2011.) Additional information was taken from statements by Amnesty International (June 11, 2012) and the International Federation for Human Rights (January 4, 2013.) Mr. Hamidi was a 16-year-old Khuzestani Arab.

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.

Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Organization of Ahvaz issued statements objecting to the execution of Arab citizens including Mr. Hamidi following unjust and non-transparent trials which disregarded legal standards.  

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of Mr. Hamidi’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

According to the Amnesty International statement, Mr. Hamidi was tried without the presence of an attorney in a ten-minute session (The Committee for Defense of Political Prisoners, May 23, 2011.) No further information is available on his trial.

Charges

No specific information is available on Mr. Hamidi’s charges. According to some reports, the charges against him and four other defendants were “murder of a police agent and two others during the unrest in Khuzestan* in April of 2011.” According to Amnesty International, these defendants may have been tried on charges of Moharebeh (“war against God.”)  

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

The report of this execution did not provide any specific information on the evidence presented against Mr. Hamidi.

Defense

Mr. Hamidi was 16 years old and younger than legal age. No information is available on his defense.  

Judgment

A court condemned Mr. Hashem Hamidi to death. The court branch which is issued the judgment and the date of the ruling are unknown. No information is available about the confirmation of this ruling by the Supreme Court. He was hanged, along with four others, at Karun Prison in Ahvaz on May 5, 2011. His body was given to his family. According to the Amnesty International statement, Hamidi may have been decapitated during the hanging (The Committee for Defense of Political Prisoners, May 23, 2011.)

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* On April 15, 2011 - the sixth anniversary of the 2005 protests and shortly after the rise of the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East - “Day of Anger” demonstrations were organized in regions of Khuzestan Province with predominantly Arab populations in solidarity with popular movements in the region’s Arab countries. In Hamidieh and Ahvaz, demonstrations were more widespread and were therefore violently quashed by security and police forces, resulting in at least twelve dead and more than twenty injured (Human Rights Defenders.) Additionally, hundreds of other Arab citizens were arrested. International human rights organizations condemned the suppression of demonstrations and the ban on news coverage by Iranian authorities, and asked the Islamic Republic authorities to allow journalists and human rights organizations to independently investigate and freely send reports in order to identify the victims of the demonstration crackdowns in Ahvaz and other majority-Arab cities in Khuzestan (Reporters Without Borders, April 23, 2011; Human Rights Watch, April 29, 2011.)

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