109-Year Prison Sentence and 2,590 Lashes Handed Down to 36 Detainees from November 2019 Protests in Behbahan / Documents
Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Behbahan County has sentenced 36 citizens arrested during the November 2019 protests to a combined total of 109 years in prison, 2,590 lashes, and 3,300,000 tomans in fines to the state treasury. This verdict was issued today, Thursday, November 1st, on the eve of the first anniversary of these protests, and has been served to the defendants.
According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the Iranian human rights activists collective, the Criminal Court of Behbahan County has sentenced 36 citizens arrested during the November 2019 protests to prison, lash, and fine sentences.
Based on these verdicts issued on October 21, 2020, by Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Behbahan County under the presidency of Rasoul Asadpour and served today, Thursday, November 1st, 2020, these citizens have been sentenced to a combined total of 109 years in prison, 2,590 lashes, and 3,300,000 tomans in fines to the state treasury. The charges against these individuals, according to the issued verdict, are as follows: “1. Participation in disruption of public order, 2. Altercation, 3. Illegal gathering, 4. Disobedience to officials while performing duties, 5. Participation in burning public property, 6. Destruction of banks and gas stations in Behbahan and participation in destruction of public property.”
According to the issued verdict, the court, in explaining the reasons for issuing this sentence, relied on the indictment issued by the Office of the General Prosecutor and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Behbahan, investigations conducted, and considering reports from the Behbahan Intelligence and Public Security Police, reports from the Behbahan Information Office, investigations carried out and supplementary reports from the disciplinary authority, the comprehensive intelligence commission report of Behbahan regarding the role of each defendant during the November protests, reports received from the Behbahan IRGC Intelligence Deputy, reports and images regarding the presence of most defendants in the protests, confessions by most defendants regarding their presence at the protest sites and baseless defenses by defendants, complaints from Export Bank, Housing Bank, and Welfare Bank.
The following is the list of defendants in the case and the verdict issued regarding each of these individuals according to the court document:
Accordingly, defendants listed as: 1. Ali Safadari, son of Orang, 2. Bahman Amini Nasrabad Sofla, son of Nabi Alah, 3. Subhat (Soleiman) Qadri, son of Mohammad Ali, 4. Milad Maanai, son of Tahmasb, 5. Mohammad Taibi, son of Mandani, 6. Ahmad Afraz, son of Nir Ali, 7. Mohammad Amin Tejam, son of Ibrahim, 8. Ruh Allah Taibi, son of Bagher, 9. Siavash Mir Asmaili, son of Mohammad Reza, 10. Reza Moazab, son of Ali, 11. Hassan Ziyarati, son of Karim, 12. Peiman Imani Moghadam, son of Nader, 13. Sajad Kamaii Bahmani, son of Mohammad Bagher, 14. Syed Jamal al-Din Vahidani, son of Syed Ali, 15. Reza Hashemi Nezhad Shabani, son of Abdol-Reza, 16. Hossein Akbari, son of Abdol-Khalil, 17. Reza Adeli Nezhad, son of Musa, 18. Hossein Tarab, son of Mohammad, 19. Mehdi Sakuti, son of Mandani, 20. Mehran Doost, son of Mohammad Morad, have each been sentenced on the charge of “participation in disruption of public order” to one year in prison with credit for time served and 74 lashes.
Likewise, defendants listed as: 21. Mohammad Amir Mohseni, son of Kamal, 22. Omid (Saeid) Moeidi Far, son of Mohammad Ali, 23. Mohammad Dodange Nashin, son of Ali Reza, 24. Mohammad Reza Kazemi, son of Ali, 25. Hossein (Ali) Ahmadi Bordzard, son of Mohammad Yar, 26. Sajad Ravod, son of Zafar, have each been sentenced to one year in prison and 74 lashes on the charge of disruption of public order (charge A) and one year in prison on the charge of disobedience (charge B). The penalty under charge (A) is enforceable for these individuals.
Defendant listed as 27. Roghayeh Taherzadeh Mousavian, daughter of Abdol-Hamid, has been sentenced on the charge of “insulting state officials while performing duties” to pay 3,300,000 tomans in fines to the state treasury in lieu of three months in prison.
Defendant listed as 28. Maryam (Kausar) Payab, daughter of Toofani, has been sentenced on the charge of “disruption of public order” to one year in prison and 74 lashes.
Defendants listed as: 29. Fazel Chire, son of Gorgali, 30. Sattar Afshin Pour, son of Rahim, 31. Mahmoud Dahdashti Akhowan, son of Mohammad, 32. Farshid Jahantab, son of Jumeh, 33. Hossein Fathi, son of Taj Mohammad, on the charge of destruction and burning of banks and public facilities (charge A) have been sentenced to 10 years in prison and on the charge of disruption of public order (charge B) to one year in prison and 74 lashes. The penalty under charge (A) is enforceable for these individuals.
Defendant listed as 34. Afshin Enharpopur, son of Rostam, on the charge of theft of public property and facilities (charge A) has been sentenced to five years in prison and on the charge of disruption of public order (charge B) to one year in prison and 74 lashes. The penalty under charge (A) is enforceable for this individual.
Defendant listed as 35. Ahmad Hatam Pour, son of Rahman, on the charge of destruction and burning of banks and public facilities (charge A) has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and on the charge of disruption of public order (charge B) to one year in prison and 74 lashes. The penalty under charge (A) is enforceable for this individual.
Defendant listed as 36. Amin Jafari, son of Ayoub, has been sentenced to pay a total of 23.01% of full blood money compensation on behalf of the victim Mr. Ali Reza Allale for blood money and damages mentioned in the legal medical certificate of Behbahan County, which must be paid within one year from the date of the offense, regarding the private aspect of the charge of intentional assault and battery, and to two years in prison regarding the public aspect of the charge of intentional assault and battery (charge A), one year in prison and 74 lashes on the charge of disruption of public order (charge B), and one year in prison on the charge of disobedience (charge C). The penalty under charge (A) is enforceable for this individual.
In another section of the issued verdict regarding these individuals it is stated: “Defendants listed first through twenty-fifth and defendants listed twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth, based on Articles 46, 52, and 54 of the Islamic Penal Code, considering that they did not have effective involvement in the course of the disturbances and are not considered among the main leaders, and the vast majority of them lack effective criminal records and had no role in destruction and burning of public property, therefore their prison, fine, and lash sentences are suspended for five years. Should the defendants commit any crime deserving of punishment including Hadd, Qisas, Diya, or Ta’zir up to the seventh degree during the suspension period, in addition to the punishment for the recent crime, the suspended sentence will also be enforced.”
In another section of this verdict regarding complaints and requests from law enforcement and military officials it is stated: “Complaints and requests by law enforcement and military officials on behalf of the state treasury in the direction of implementing Article 85 in accordance with the request of the respected prosecutor to Criminal Courts 2, who have been present in accordance with their organizational and administrative duties to establish order in the location of disturbances, verdict is issued on the conviction of the state treasury to pay 1.75% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Abdol-Hossein Kavosi, and to pay 1.566% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Sajad Karam Fardian, and to pay 1% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Ali Reza Mansour Nezhad, and to pay 0.5% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Mohammad Reza Rohani Far, and to pay 2% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Heidayat Allah Askari Zade Nazari, and to pay 5.65% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Mehdi Makif, and to pay 6.058% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Amin Nakoui Nasab, and to pay 1.15% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Hamzeh Ali Pour, and to pay 1.8% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Mohsen Bagher Pour, and to pay 3.7% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Gholam Reza Bi Niyaz, and to pay 37.483% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Ali Mohammadi Darabi, and to pay 2% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Abdollah Joumord, and to pay 1.5% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Syed Mohsen Mousavi Pour, and to pay 1.95% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Mansour Ihsani, and to pay 0.8% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Qodrat Allah Dorostkaar, and to pay 0.5% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Ali Hamedi Monash, and to pay 1.033% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Mohammad Ali Taqizadeh, and to pay 1.45% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Ali Shahrouni, and to pay 2% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Kazem Mir Moghadam, and to pay 49.65% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Abdol-Samad Ouramen, and to pay 3.4% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Lotfollah Khordmand Mohkam, and to pay 47% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Safdar Pour Cheki, and to pay 1.3% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Syed Ali Yousefi Zade, and to pay 0.65% of full blood money on behalf of the victim Mr. Saleh Farhmand Sader, and announces. Regarding the complaint and request of Messrs. 1-Safdar Pour Cheki, 2-Iman Alfachin, 3-Ali Asghar Pouran Zade on behalf of the state treasury, considering that firstly: the submission of the complaint petition by the victims was at a time other than when the case file was formed, and it is questionable whether the victims were harmed during the gathering in question, and it is not unlikely that they may have been harmed in another incident other than the mentioned incident, and secondly: assuming harm in the alleged incident, given police warnings and security authorities and media regarding avoiding gathering, yet in harmony with invitations from opposition media they proceeded to participate in the disturbances, and with the justification that we were merely spectators we seek blood money, whereas relying on the principle of action (Al-Aqdam Musqat Al-Daman) and that blood money payment from the Muslim state treasury must be limited and exceptional, therefore on the whole the requests of the named individuals in this regard are rejected, and regarding other individuals mentioned in the case including officials and others, considering the referral of the named individuals to the legal medicine office and non-submission of a legal medical certificate from this office, this office has no obligation in this matter.”
In the final section of the issued verdict regarding the defendants in this case, it is stated: “The verdict issued regarding defendants listed sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, fifteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirty-first, thirty-second, thirty-third, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth is in absentia and is subject to appeal within twenty days after service in the appellate courts of Khuzestan Province, and regarding the other defendants the issued verdict is in absentia and is subject to objection within twenty days after service in the same court and then within twenty days subject to appeal in the appellate courts of Khuzestan Province (additionally, regarding the charge against Ahmad Hatam Pour, son of Rahman, and Maryam (Kausar) Payab, daughter of Toofani, concerning propaganda activities against the system, the indictment has been incorrectly issued to Criminal Courts 2 and should have been submitted to the Mahshahr Revolutionary Court, therefore the case office is hereby returned to the prosecutor’s office to submit the indictment to the Mahshahr Revolutionary Court).”
The court hearing to review the charges against these citizens was held on October 21, 2020, in Branch 102 of the Criminal Court in Behbahan. In this verdict, regarding the holding of this court session, it is stated “some of the defendants or their lawyers submitted a petition due to overcrowding of defendants at the time of hearing and to maintain social distancing regarding coronavirus disease.”
Among these individuals, Ahmad Hatam Pour was previously in the second part of his case sentenced by Branch One of the Mahshahr Revolutionary Court on the charge of “propaganda activities against the system and in favor of groups and organizations opposed to the system” to six months in prison and as a supplementary punishment for a period of two years from membership in political parties, groups, and organizations. This verdict was confirmed verbatim in the appellate court some time ago. “Singing the song ‘My First-Grade Friend,’ shouting the slogan ‘No to Gaza, No to Lebanon, My Life for Iran,’ and naming the victims of the nationwide November 2019 protests as martyrs” were listed as examples of the charge.
Hrana had previously on February 8, 2019, in a report identified the identities of 90 citizens arrested during the November 2019 protests in Behbahan. During the November 2019 protests at Bank Melli Square in Behbahan, a number of citizens including Mehrdad Dashtinia, Mahmoud Dashtinia, Farzad Ansari Far, Mohammad Hossein Qanvati, Ehsan Abdollah Nezhad, and Mohammad Hasham Dar lost their lives from gunfire by security forces.
The November protests, referred to as a series of nationwide protests that began on Friday, November 15, 2019, with the announcement of an unprecedented increase in gasoline prices in dozens of Iranian cities with the unprecedented presence of protesters in the streets and continued for several days. Mohammad Javad Kolivand, representative of Karaj in the Parliament, said these protests occurred at 719 locations across the country. Syed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, then spokesman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, also announced the number of those arrested in the recent protests as around 7,000 people. According to reports from human rights defense organizations, hundreds also lost their lives following these bloody protests.
Source: Hrana
