Premeditated Murder Verdict Issued for Defendant in ‘Mehran Samak’ Case
The primary court issued a premeditated murder verdict for the defendant charged in the death of ‘Mehran Samak’.
Mehran Samak was one of the victims of nationwide protests in the port city of Anzali. On the evening of December 30, 2022, after the national football team’s loss, while he was present on the street expressing his protest by honking and chanting slogans, he was shot and killed with birdshot at just 27 years old.
The presence of protesting people on the streets, accompanied by honking and chanting protest slogans against the players’ performance, provoked responses from government officials, which resulted in the death of 27-year-old Mehran Samak. The only difference between this case and other victims of nationwide protests is the legal prosecution and efforts to punish the responsible officer regarding ‘failure to comply with weapons use regulations’ and the resulting death of Mehran Samak.
‘Jafar Javanamardi’, former commander of the Anzali police force, is the defendant in Mehran’s case. Before Mehran’s death, he served as the police commander, but after the shooting and death of Mehran, he was dismissed from his position and arrested. ‘Majid Ahmadi’, the attorney for Mehran Samak’s family, announced in a December 2022 conversation with Shargh newspaper that the charge against the former Anzali police commander was ‘failure to comply with weapons use regulations resulting in premeditated murder’. According to his statements, the defendant was serving as the police commander at the time of Mehran’s death, and the case was formed in a military court. After months of review, the court has now issued a premeditated murder verdict. This verdict has been referred to the Supreme Court for reconsideration following the defendant’s and his attorneys’ objections.
It is worth noting that, given the nature of the charge against Jafar Javanamardi, the defendant in this case, he remains in temporary detention. The Samak family, as the claimants and complainants in the case, did not object to the verdict issued by the primary court in the first days of this year.
Mehran Samak’s attorney also concluded by answering the question (why the judicial system remained silent about this case and the judicial branch refrained from official media coverage), stating: ‘It appears this question should be asked by media representatives to senior judicial authorities. Without a doubt, this case has been one of the most important cases for the judicial system in recent months, and the public is closely following it. It was expected that the spokesperson of the judicial system would provide information to the public in their press conference regarding the Mehran Samak case, as they do with other important cases. We and the people still have this expectation.’
