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

Mohammad Ali Esma’ili Bolurdi

About

Age: 29
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: May 12, 1990
Location of Killing: Central Prison (Adelabad), Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Drug related offense
Age at time of alleged offense: 25

About this Case

took the fall to secure the release of his newly-married brother.

News and information about the execution of Mr. Mohammad Ali Esma’ili Bolurdi, son of Khanomjan and Ziadkhan, along with 14 other people was obtained through Abdorrahman Boroumand Center interviews with one of his acquaintances on June 22, 2018.

Mr. Esma’ili was born in 1961 in Sirjan County in Kerman province. He left school before receiving his high school diploma and started working as a truck driver. He was married with two children. According to an acquaintance, he was a kind, decent, and religious person.

Mr. Esma’ili’s case pertained to “drug trafficking” in 1986 in Sirjan County.

Mr. Esma’ili was a kind, decent, and religious person.

Arrest and detention

In late December 1986-early January 1987, around 7 PM, about eight agents of the Khalili Komiteh in Shiraz (Center for Combating Narcotics and Social Corruption) arrested Mr. Esma’ili and his brother at Mr. Esma’ili's home in Sirjan and transferred him to the Khalili Komiteh in Shiraz.

During his detention at Khalili Komiteh, Mr. Esma’ili’s family was allowed to visit him just once. According to the interviewee, during this time, Mr. Esma’ili was severely tortured and signs of whipping on his back and one broken tooth were obviously visible. After a while, he was transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. During four years of detention in Adelabad Prison, he was allowed to visit his family once a week. His family was forced to travel 377 kilometers between Sirjan and Shiraz every week for visitation.

Mr. Esma’ili was severely tortured and signs of whipping on his back and one broken tooth were obviously visible.

Trial

No information is available on Mr. Esma’ili’s trial.

Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Esma’ili was “drug trafficking.”

The validity of the criminal charges brought against these defendants cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial. 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 based on trumped-up charges is unknown.

Evidence of guilt

Confessions made by an individual who was arrested for drug trafficking against Mr. Esma’ili and 14 others were used as the evidence to prove Mr. Esma’ili’s charge. According to the available information, the person who made the confession (first row defendant) identified several people as his accomplices, thinking that he would be punished less with accomplices in the case.

Confessions made by an individual who was arrested for drug trafficking against Mr. Esma’ili and 14 others were used as the evidence to prove Mr. Esma’ili’s charge.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Esma’ili’s defense.

According to available information, there was no evidence against Mr. Esma’ili to prove the charge of drug trafficking, other than the confession of the arrested person (the prime defendant). This came at a time when Mr. Esma’ili had no criminal record, was not addicted to drugs, and no drugs were discovered in his home. Even the person who confessed against him retracted his confession several times, though the interrogators tortured that person into finally affirming the confession.

According to the interviewee, Mr. Esma’ili accepted the alleged charge in order to secure release of his brother, who had recently married.

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.

There was no evidence against Mr. Esma’ili to prove the charge of drug trafficking.

Judgment

Mr. Mohammad Ali Esma’ili Bolurdi was hanged in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz along with 14 others on May 12, 1990.

There is no information on the court that issued the execution verdict against Mr. Esma’ili.

Before Mr. Esma’ili’s execution, his wife, along with the several other defendants’ wives, had travelled to the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader in Tehran to follow up on their loved ones’ cases, but nothing happened.

The prison authorities did not provide Mr. Esma’ili or his family with an execution date. The family was informed about the execution only afterwards and was asked to report to Adelabad Prison to receive his body. Mr. Esma’ili’s family received his body along with four others, and transferred them to Sirjan with a pickup truck and buried them there. According to the interviewee, some sources reported that the rope tore during Mr. Esma’ili’s execution and authorities afterward hanged him a second time.

Two booklets containing Mr. Esma’ili’s poems and account of his detention remain.

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*   Mr. Gholamreza (Mozafar) Shahsavaripur, Mr. Habibollah Keivan, Mr. Alibaz Eskandari Nasab, and Mr. Rahmatollah Eskandarzadeh were among the people who were executed along with Mr. Esma'ili. No information is available regarding to other individuals were executed at the same time along with Mr. Esma'ili.

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