Babak Paknia: Transfer of Navid Afkari’s Torture Witness to NAJA Intelligence is Illegal
Babak Paknia, lawyer for Shahin Naseri, the torture witness of Navid Afkari who was executed on September 22 at Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, told the Iran Human Rights Campaign in an interview that his transfer to NAJA intelligence and lack of information about his situation since September 21 is concerning, and expressed worry about the unknown status of his client.
Mr. Paknia, introduced by Shahin Naseri’s family as his lawyer, told the campaign that Mr. Naseri has had only one very brief contact with his father-in-law since being transferred to NAJA intelligence on September 21, informing him of his physical well-being, but his family does not know where he is being held.
Babak Paknia told the campaign: I asked my colleague to submit the power of attorney to the prison. Generally, when you submit a power of attorney to a prison, the person receiving it checks to see if the detainee actually exists in that prison or not, and if they don’t, they won’t accept it from you. But if they do, they write on the power of attorney which ward the detainee is in. On our power of attorney they wrote “Saadat Ward.” This meant Mr. Naseri was in the Saadat Ward and they said they would have him sign the power of attorney and tell us to come collect it tomorrow. But the next day, when my colleague went to collect the power of attorney, they said Shahin Naseri is not here, and on the power of attorney they wrote that on September 21 by order of the first branch of the Shiraz Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, he was transferred to NAJA intelligence. This is while Mr. Naseri was serving his sentence on fraud charges and had committed no new crime that would warrant his transfer from the general ward to NAJA intelligence, and my suspicion is that it definitely relates to Navid Afkari’s case because there is no other reason.
He called the transfer of Shahin Naseri to NAJA intelligence illegal and told the campaign: We will definitely contact the first branch of the Shiraz Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office and follow up on signing the power of attorney, but what they did is completely contrary to the law. All over the world, legal principles state that the judicial system must create conditions so that a witness comes with peace of mind and testifies to reveal the truth. In fact, many times they even hide the identity of witnesses who might be at risk, but our judicial system itself somehow threatens the witness, and these are not correct actions by the judiciary. Now that the judicial system is doing this, from tomorrow no one will be willing to testify at all.
Babak Paknia told the campaign: When the head of the judiciary says he is in prison but I send a power of attorney to the prison and they themselves write on it that he is not there, what are these lies for? Since he has no other case, it’s true I don’t have written documentation, but the pattern is clear and it’s very obvious that they wouldn’t just take someone and transfer them to NAJA intelligence for no reason.
Shahin Naseri is a prisoner in Shiraz Prison who testified that he was a witness to torture of Navid Afkari at a time when the judiciary was denying any torture against Afkari. The head of the judicial system in Fars Province, however, described Shahin Naseri as a forger and fraudster, and denied any of his testimony about Navid Afkari’s torture.
In an audio file released from parts of Navid Afkari’s trial sessions, he says that a forensic medical report about his torture exists and he has a witness for his claim. The judge in the case, however, rejects his request to summon his torture witness at Shiraz Intelligence Department and says: “There is no need. If the court determines it, we will examine it. You don’t know how to investigate. Even if we don’t pay attention and don’t examine it, the Supreme Court will examine it.”
Shahin Naseri testified in the witness investigation report that “a man standing above Navid’s head was saying whatever I say is correct and I don’t know his name and I think he was a fair-skinned person with a red and white face and with broad shoulders and hair that I think he had planted and combed upward, and Navid’s hand was on his head, and he struck Navid’s hand four times and was cursing with vile language, saying with vile curses that what I say is correct.”
He wrote that “Navid was lying on his side on the ground with his hand on his head and begging them not to beat him. After we came to the detention center, I saw Navid and his hand was swollen and bruised. Navid said Sergeant Abbasi broke my hand. For almost two months that I was in intelligence, I witnessed Navid’s suffering and distress due to his broken hand. Besides, I saw him strike Navid’s hand myself.”
Shahin Naseri also announced in an audio file that “one day at intelligence in the hallway I heard screams, noise and pleas. The sergeant with me asked me to stand in the hallway while he went back, he opened a door in a room. I also went out of curiosity to see what was going on. I saw two people in civilian clothes in a room with cursing and a baton and pipe, mercilessly beating Navid. They were telling him whatever we say is correct. Are you writing the things we say or not? Navid was also pleading, don’t hit me, I didn’t do anything. He was putting his hands on his head. One of the officers whom I later found out was named Abbasi struck his hand so hard that Navid screamed loudly and lost consciousness. I testified about this at three prosecutor’s offices. At the prosecutor’s office for security crimes where I went to testify, the investigator of the branch asked what did you see at intelligence? I explained what I saw. The investigator said in a bad tone, you are interfering in a security case. I will bring your father. I will force these same officers to file a complaint against you for slander and libel. I will destroy you.”
Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign
