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

Nader Dastanpur

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: June 17, 2016
Location of Killing: Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Death in custody
Charges: Unknown charge; Addiction; Disrupting public order

About this Case

died a day after his arrest at the detention center of police station, due to the severity of the injuries caused during his arrest and the failure to provide appropriate treatments.

Information regarding the death of Mr. Nader Dastanpur, son of Ali, in custody in Narmak police station was obtained through Abdorrahman Boroumand Center’s interview with an informed person on February 2, 2018. The news of Mr. Dastanpur’s death in custody was initially announced by HRANA- Human Rights Activists News Agency (July 6, 2016). Additional information about this extrajudicial death has been obtained from HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency) (July 8 and 11, 2016), Tasnim News Agency (July 8, 2016), and documents available at Abdorrahman Boroumand Center including the court decision by the Supreme Court Branch 19, body examination report, and the report made by Iranian Legal Medicine Organization on the cause of Mr. Dastanpur’s death. Also, the neighbors and local residents who witnessed the manner in which police officers arrested Mr. Dastanpur, signed a testimony to describe the circumstances.

Mr. Dastanpur was the second child of his family. Mr. Dastanpur, worked at a store in Narmak Square along with his father. According to a family member, he was very well-regarded in the neighborhood and he really liked sports.

Arrest and Detention

Mr. Dastanpur, along with his brother, was arrested on June 16, 2016 in his father’s home by police officers and was detained in the detention center at Narmak police station.

The statements of the authorities regarding the reasons and the manner of his detention are completely contradictory with his family’s statements.

According to the Narmak police station’s Chief’s report, on June 16, 2016, following an anonymous complaint against Mr. Y.D. (Mr. Nader Dastanpur’s brother) regarding an attempt to steal a motorcycle at 90thSquare in Narmak, Mr. Y.D. and his brother (Mr. Nader Dastanpur) were involved in a fight with police officers and then hid in their home which was nearby. Accordingly, the court order to enter their home was obtained and both suspects were arrested while intoxicated and transferred to the police station (Tasnim News Agency).

However, according to a source close to the family, police officers wanted to enter the Dastanpurs’ home without a court order, and the family thus refused them access. The officers asked for backup, and after a while, they broke the door and entered forcefully. As witnesses testified, the officers beat the Dastanpur family with their boots and batons and used pepper spray. Then they put Mr. Dastanpur into their car trunk by force while his face and head were injured and bleeding (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

The statements of the authorities regarding the reasons and the manner of Mr. Dastanpur’s detention are completely contradictory with his family’s statements.

A member of the Dastanpur family described the event as follows: “Since Nader and his father worked as shopkeepers, they came back home around 3 or 4 in the morning and were asleep until 1:00 PM, when the police officers entered their home. The officers asked Nader’s elder brother to accompany them to the police station based on a complaint. He asked the officers for a summons, which they did not have. A short time after, when the backup officers arrived, the officers entered the home forcefully without a warrant, while Nadir and his father were sleeping. On that particular day, Nader did not go out at all. After the officers began to beat Nader and his brother while using pepper spray, Nader’s father got involved. Then the officers handcuffed him and beat Nader’s head and face with batons and boots before his eyes. Nader first saw the officers while he was sleeping and had never seen them before that day. Before the officers’ entrance, one family member had called 197 [the complaint hotline for the Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran General Inspection] to make a report on police officers’ attempt to enter their property without a warrant. This call is recorded” (HRANA, July 8, 2016).

In this regard, the HRANA website has published photographs of Mr. Dastanpur’s injured face, as well as fractures on their home door.

The interrogator of the 7thBranch of the Prosecutor’s Office of Tehran’s District 4, tried Mr. Dastanpur. No information is available on the details of the interrogation, except the point that the investigator, in spite of observing Mr. Dastanpur’s injuries, had issued a 24-hour extension of his detention instead of sending him to the hospital for treatment (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

While in detention, Mr. Dastanpur did not have access to a lawyer.

Photographs of Mr. Dastanpur’s injured face, as well as fractures on their home door is available.

Death of Mr. Nader Dastanpur

Mr. Nader Dastanpur died a day after his arrest at the detention center of Narmak police station, due to the severity of the injuries caused during his arrest and the failure to provide appropriate treatments (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

According to a family member, due to the severity of Mr. Dastanpur’s injuries, his health condition got worse in detention. Efforts and requests on the part of his brother and other detainees to get authorities to transfer him to the hospital failed. Instead of sending him to the hospital, the officers ridiculed them until Mr. Dastanpur died from brain hemorrhage in the arms of his brother. An hour after his death, the ambulance transferred the body to the Kahrizak morgue, five days later, the body was handed over to the family for burial (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

Mr. Dastanpur died a day after his arrest at the detention center of Narmak police station, due to the severity of the injuries caused during his arrest and the failure to provide appropriate treatments.

Statements and Reactions of the Officials

Following the release of the news regarding Mr. Nader Dastanpur’s death in detention due to the severe injuries during his arrest and failure to provide medical treatment while in the custody of police, Chief of Narmak police station stated that the arrest of the Dastanpur brothers was part of plan to deal with thugs, intruders, and the violent criminals in the neighborhood and claimed that Mr. Dastanpur had a criminal history and was fighting with law enforcement officers while intoxicated. He also claimed that Mr. Dastanpur had a background of psychological issues and a history of drug addiction and his death in custody was due to many factors, such as his illness (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

The Chief of Narmak police station described the incident as follows:

“On June 16, 2016, following an anonymous call regarding a fight in 90th Square in Narmak, one of the police officers was dispatched immediately and, after his arrival at the scene , two young men told him that the suspect named Y.D. [Nader Dastanpur’s brother] was about to steal their motorcycle. The officers at the scene attempted to arrest the suspect, meanwhile, his brother, N.D. [Nader Dastanpur], who after the initial quarrel started fighting the officers, ran away to his home after he injured a police officer. At this point, the officers on the scene immediately called for backup, and a court order was issued to enter their home and arrest them. After the arrival of officers, both suspects were arrested while intoxicated and transferred to the police station”. The Chief also claimed that the people who were present at the scene signed a written testimony requesting that police arrest Mr. Dastanpur (Tasnim News Agency). However, that claimed written testimony never been published.

The officials claimed that Mr. Dastanpur’s death in custody was due to many factors, such as his illness.

According to the Chief of Narmak police station, after the transfer of the Dastanpur brothers to the police station, the officers noticed the unusual and unbalanced situation of Mr. Nader Dastanpur and called for the ambulance. According to the Chief, after the examination the doctor stated that Mr. Dastanpur had no problems and that it was not necessary for him to be transferred to the hospital. Then, both suspects were sent to forensic medicine for alcohol testing, and the result of the experiment showed that Nader’s blood alcohol content was 171 mg and his brother’s was 46 mg.

He also claimed that at the time of the arrest, some amount of drugs was discovered at their home, which, according to the suspects’ father, had belonged to Nader. According to the Chief of Narmak police station, Nader’s father also stated that his son had a history of mental illness and was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital last week due to self-injury.

The Chief added: “The next day, both brothers were transferred to the judiciary, and after obtaining a court order to extend the detention for the next 24 hours, it was decided that Nader Dastanpur would be transferred to forensic medicine for physiological examination that coming Saturday. However, on Friday afternoon, June 16, while both suspects were resting after exercising, Nader’s brother realized that he was not breathing, and at the same time an officer found about their movements using security cameras, and called the emergency service while presence on the site, and one of the officers performed CPR. After the ambulance arrived, the doctors realized that Nader had died.”

He mentioned finally: “A case was opened at the police inspection department and in the judicial authority, and his body was transferred to forensic medicine to determine the cause of death. However, based on the amount of alcohol and drugs in his blood, investigations are still being carried out to determine the ultimate cause of death” (Tasnim News Agency).

Furthermore, Tehran’s Attorney General also reacted to the report of Mr. Nader Dastanpur’s death in custody, and emphasizing the need for further supervision in this regard in an implicit way, criticized the manner in which the responsible authorities in this case had taken care of the suspect and the fact that they had not transferred him to prison (following his first 24 hours in custody as required by law).  

A report from forensic medicine, stated that Mr. Dastanpur’s cause of death is the cardiac arrhythmia due to concurrent consumption of alcohol and Sildenafil (Viagra) and the point that injuries observed in the body of the deceased had no effect on his death.

A report dated September 24, 2006 from forensic medicine, while indicating the presence of sildenafil (Viagra) and methadone, as well as alcohol in the stomach of Mr. Dastanpur, the cause of his death is stated as the cardiac arrhythmia due to concurrent consumption of alcohol and Sildenafil (Viagra) and the point that injuries observed in the body of the deceased had no effect on his death (Documents available at ABC).

Statements and Reactions of the Family

HRANA news agency reported that Mr. Dastanpur’s family reacted to statements of the Chief of Narmak police station and rejected all his claims. They stated that the police officers entered their home forcefully without any court order and started beating Nader with their batons and boots and did not take appropriate care of him until he died in the detention center. In this regard, there is a testimony signed by neighbors who witnessed the incident, as well as a recorded call to 197 (the complaint hotline for the Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran General Inspection) at the time of police officers’ forced entry into their home. In addition, Mr. Dastanpur’s family denied all charges brought by the Chief of Narmak police station against him and stated that the reasons for the arrest and detention of Mr. Nader Dastanpur are not clear (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

Mr. Dastanpur’s family, while rejecting claims that described Nader as a “thug” and “psychopath”, stated that he was an athlete and very well-regarded in the neighborhood.

In regards to statements of the Chief of Narmak police station about Mr. Dastanpur’s “psychological problems,” a family member explained: “First of all, assuming that someone has a psychological problem, should he have been attacked and beaten in his own home? Secondly, Nader had no problem. The Chief of Narmak police station, at the time that the Dastanpur brothers were being transferred to the police station, handed out some papers to a Nader’s father to sign and told him that these papers were related to their case and for their release process. Nader’s father signed them having no idea about their content while his eyes were affected by pepper gas spray. It’s possible that these falsifications have been added to those papers. Nader’s father strongly denied that he said Nader had psychological problems” (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

Mr. Dastanpur’s family stated that the police officers beaten Mr. Dastanpur and did not take appropriate care of him until he died in the detention center.

This source also denied any claims made by the Chief of Narmak police station regarding the presence of the ambulance, the medical examination of Nader, and any statements regarding his health at the time of his arrest. He added further: “The main question is why the authorities transferred Nader’s body to Chamran Hospital without registration, and then to the Kahrizak morgue belongings to the Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran (NAJA), and kept the body there for five days? If the security cameras in the detention center recorded what happened that day, it would be great to publish them to see his brother begging for the two hours Nader was dying and the officers were laughing at them” (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

The Dastanpur family believed that the interrogator of the 7thBranch of the Prosecutor’s Office of Tehran’s District 4 should bear full responsibility for the “crime” committed. The interrogator despite observing Nader’s severe injuries, not only not order his transfer to the hospital, but extended his detention. Dastanpur’s family listed nine unauthorized officers who broke the door and entered their home and started beating Nader, among the other persons responsible for this “crime” (HRANA, July 6, 2016).

Trial

No court trail was conducted for Mr. Nader Dastanpur.

Charges

The statements on the charges brought against Mr. Nader Dastanpur are contradictory.According to the Chief of Narmak police station, the reason for his arrest and detention was his criminal background, disturbing public safety and security, consuming drugs, drinking alcohol, and engaging in a fight with police officers while doing their duties (Tasnim News Agency).

The Dastanpur family believed that the interrogator judge in this case along with nine officers of Narmak police station are responsible for the “crime” committed.

Evidence of guilt

According to the law enforcement authorities, “an anonymous call with the police, the report by the agents present at the scene, and the written testimony signed by people at the scene” was along the evidence brought against Mr. Dastanpur.

Defense

No details are available on Mr. Dastanpur’s defense.

A Summary of the Legal Defects in the Adjudication of Mr. Nader Daastanpur’s Case

Although the statements by the Police are radically different than Nader Dastanpur’s family’s account in this case, both sides agree, nevertheless, that the Police had resorted to force in order to enter and arrest Mr. Dastanpur at his home. Generally speaking, the law requires that the arrest of an individual take place in accordance with the law and with [human and] moral values; officers are absolutely not allowed to beat the person whatsoever. The circumstances of this case indicate that a great number of officers were present at the scene of the arrest and that they were armed. It is highly unlikely that two unarmed individuals were able to resist a multitude of officers in such a way as to force the officers to resort to force and tear gas. Therefore, it seems that the manner of Mr. Dastanpur’s arrest violated the rules and regulations [governing arrests]. Furthermore, Mr. Dastanpur spent 24 hours at the police precinct’s holding cell. If he had used pills or consumed alcohol, it must surely have been prior to his arrest; it seems unlikely, therefore, that his death was caused by an overdose of pills or alcohol [poisoning]. Additionally, the police officials were duty-bound to take Mr. Dastanpur to the hospital, whereas, according to police statements, Mr. Dastanpur had already passed away when the emergency ambulance arrived at the precinct. It seems, therefore, that Mr. Nader Dastanpur’s was in a critical physical state prior to his death and that police officials had ignored the matter. Information regarding what steps were taken after his death is scarce; the family has announced, however, that his body was kept at the morgue for 5 days before it was turned over to them. Keeping a body at the morgue for this long is contrary to what is customary. According to statements made by police officials, a criminal case was opened in this regard; it seems, however, that it has not resulted in the conviction of anyone in the Police Force.

Judgment

Due to Mr. Nader Dastanpur’s death in detention, no official ruling was issued against him.

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