Forty-ninth Court Session of Hamid Nouri; Witness Testified to Being Taken to Gas Chamber with a Group of Prisoners

The forty-ninth session of Hamid Nouri’s trial, accused of participating in the execution of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, was held on Tuesday, December 7th, with testimony from Mohammad Khodabandelo-ei in Stockholm, Sweden. He is one of the political prisoners who survived those executions at Evin Prison.

Mohammad Khodabandelo-ei was first arrested at the age of eighteen for supporting the People’s Mujahedin Organization. The witness spent his period of imprisonment from 1982 to 1989 in various prisons. He was transferred to Gohardasht Prison in June 1985.

Khodabandelo-ei testified that during that period, Mortazavi was the head of Gohardasht Prison and, based on prisoners’ understanding, Lashkari held the position of deputy commander of the military-security section of the prison.

The witness recalls seeing Hamid Nouri in Gohardasht Prison from late 1986 or early 1987 onwards. One of the witness’s encounters with Hamid Nouri was in August 1987—twice in one day—during one of the severe crackdowns in the gas chamber. Khodabandelo-ei testified that he was taken to the gas chamber with a group of prisoners who had been on hunger strike. He was beaten by Lashkari, Nasarian, Nouri, and several other guards both inside and outside the gas chamber, and he lost his right eye.

Mohammad Khodabandelo-ei testified that on June 2nd, 1988, he was transferred from Gohardasht Prison to Evin Prison along with more than 150 Mujahedin prisoners and two non-Mujahedin prisoners.

The witness said that on the fourth or fifth of August, the rooms in Evin Prison were closed, and the next day the executions began. On August 6th, 1988, he was taken to the Evin prosecutor’s office building and on August 7th he was brought before the death committee. The witness was later acquitted of membership in the People’s Mujahedin Organization—after fourteen months—and was released from Evin Prison at the end of his sentence in August 1989.

The witness identified Wednesday, August 5th, as the day executions began at Evin Prison. He said six people were executed on the first day, of whom only two were sentenced to death.

Khodabandelo-ei testified that he saw Nasarian and Nouri in late August 1988 at Evin Prison. At that time, only seven people had survived the executions. Of these seven, two were not Mujahedin. Mohammad Khodabandelo-ei was arrested once more in 1993 and released after six months. The witness has written a book titled “Come with Me to the Days of Massacre” which describes his memories from June 2nd to September 22nd, 1988.

In today’s court session, the defense counsel for the accused attempted to focus on “the differences between the witness’s testimony in court and his interrogation by Swedish police.” Nouri’s defense lawyer claimed that the witness rarely mentioned the name Hamid Nouri (Abbasi) in the interrogations and his book. In response to this claim, Khodabandelo-ei said that in his book, he addressed the Evin Prison in general and the names of more than 70 executed political prisoners, not prison guards.

Nouri’s lawyer pointed to a mistake the witness made during interrogation regarding the name “Abbasi.” In that interrogation, the name “Abbasi” was mistakenly announced once by the witness and translator as “Abasian.” The defense counsel also told the witness that in the section about beatings in the gas chamber, there was no mention of Nouri. The witness explained that this was because Nouri had a passive role while his superior had a greater role and responsibility.

Another section of the defense counsel’s argument was devoted to the differences within the People’s Mujahedin Organization and Iraj Mesdaghi. Nouri’s defense lawyer pointed to his client’s claim about threats made to certain witnesses, including Mohammad Khodabandelo-ei, by Mesdaghi. The witness had previously told attorney Kent Lewis in another place: “Do I need threats and coercion to participate in this trial? Even with purely personal motivation, my conscience tells me to participate in this trial.”

At the end of the court session, the witness said he received a message from his relatives in one of the remote villages that they were listening to the trial live. The witness said this shows that public opinion is following this trial very closely.

The next court session will be held on Thursday, December 10th, with the testimony of Reza Shamirany.

Source: Voice of America