After One Year, Zahedan Prosecutor Backtracks; Death Sentences Issued for Those Accused of Rape in Iranshahr

About a year after the issue of rape against dozens of girls was raised by the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Iranshahr, the Zahedan prosecutor, while backing down from expressing doubts about the case, announced the issuance of death sentences for four people in connection with that case.

According to Iranian domestic news agencies, Ali Mohammadi Rad, the Zahedan prosecutor, said on Sunday, June 19, that in the case of “violent rape” in Iranshahr, “commission of the offense” was proven against three of the complainants.

The Zahedan prosecutor announced the proof of kidnapping and rape crimes at a time when last year, following the publication of reports of several rape cases in Iranshahr, he had expressed doubts about it and said: it should be determined whether the rape was consensual or coercive.

Last June, after “Maulvi Tayyib Malazahi,” the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Iranshahr, spoke about the rape of several girls in this city during Eid al-Fitr prayers, protest gatherings were held in the city and participants demanded investigation into the matter. It was said that some of those who were victims of rape did not raise the issue or file complaints due to fear of those around them.

Following the escalation of protests, Iranian judicial authorities criticized the media coverage of the issue, and Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iran’s chief prosecutor, even called the incidents in Iranshahr city a complete lie and fabrication from the beginning. He even threatened legal prosecution of the city’s Sunni Friday prayer leader.

Now the Zahedan prosecutor has announced that the issue of rape against three women who filed complaints has been proven.

Source: Voice of America