Hamid Nouri's final trial in Albania; a witness spoke about the body bags of the executed

Hassan Ashrafian, a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization, said in the last hearing of Hamid Nouri's trial in Albania as a plaintiff and witness that he had seen more than 30 bags containing the bodies of prisoners that had been taken out of the prison by truck.

Hassan Ashrafian said that Hamid Abbasi (Nouri) told prisoners who had survived executions that "if we wanted to fully implement the Imam's fatwa, we would have to arrest and execute half of the Iranian people."

Hamid Nouri is accused of participating in the mass executions of political prisoners as a former assistant prosecutor at Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, a charge he denies.

Hamid Nouri arrived at Stockholm Airport on November 9, 2019, on a direct flight from Iran and was immediately arrested.

The members of the presiding board of the Hamid Nouri court have traveled to the city of Durres in Albania, and the court session on Thursday, November 17, is the seventh and final of seven sessions to be held in the country.

Hamid Nouri is not present at the Albanian court hearings, and his lawyer is present. He is present at the Stockholm court with his other lawyers and is watching the Albanian court hearings via video.

Hassan Ashrafian said in Hamid Nouri's court hearing that he was arrested in January 1982 on charges of supporting the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization and transferred to Gohardasht Prison in 1985. He added that he was transferred to Evin Prison in February 1988 and released in December 1992.

He stated that on August 28, he saw two wagons full of thick ropes: "I saw Daoud Lashkari, armed and wearing military uniform. Several people in civilian clothes were with him, and two Afghan prisoners in prison uniforms were carrying two wagons full of thick ropes."

Hassan Ashrafian said that on August 3, he saw two trucks transporting the bodies of those executed: “One of the trucks was off. The other truck was on and I could see the little red lights on the bottom of the truck. I saw the body bags. One of the guards had gone over the bodies and was pulling a tent over the truck.”

In response to the prosecutor's question about how he knew there were bodies in the bags, he said, "It was obvious in the bags, and I saw about 30 bags and bodies."

Hassan Ashrafian explained his encounters with Hamid Nouri, saying that he had seen him several times in Gohardasht Prison: "A few months after we were transferred to Gohardasht Prison, he came to our ward. We didn't know him. The guys said they were Hamid Abbasi (Nouri) and Naserian (Mohammad Moghiseh), and we raised the problems we were having in the ward. They would visit the wards according to their own schedule to monitor and learn about the prisoners' situation."

He said that another time, when he and a number of other prisoners were taken to the gas chamber for group exercise, upon coming out, "I heard Hamid Abbasi's voice saying, 'Beat these hypocrites.' I kept his voice in my mind."

Hassan Ashrafian said that he last saw Hamid Nouri in November 1988, after the executions: "It was late November when Hamid Abbasi came with a few other people. We raised our health and medical problems, and he said, 'Go and thank God that you are alive.' He said that if we wanted to fully implement the Imam's fatwa, we would have to arrest and execute half of the people of Iran. I was not blindfolded and I could see him."

Hassan Ashrafian, in response to a question from lawyer Hamid Nouri about the personal characteristics of Hamid Abbasi (Nouri), said that he was a man of few words and spoke less than others.

Hamid Nouri's lawyer said that Hassan Ashrafian's statements in court contradicted his statements during the police investigation. He added: "Hassan Ashrafian was questioned by the police about the treatment of Hamid Abbasi (Nouri) after the executions, but he did not say anything about his treatment. Regarding the rope wagon, the date he told the police is different from the date he told in court."

Hassan Ashrafian said that he may have misread the date and that he still doubts that those events occurred on August 27.

According to him, Hamid Nouri usually wore a prison uniform, which was a khaki and green suit, but he had also seen him in ordinary, civilian clothes several times.

Q&A with Asghar Mehdizadeh

In the continuation of this session, Hamid Nouri's lawyers questioned Asghar Mehdizadeh, who had testified in court on November 11 as a witness and plaintiff.

That day, Hamid Nouri's lawyer requested an extraordinary meeting and said that he had many questions for Asghar Mehdizadeh.

The judge also said that they would ask Asghar Mehdizadeh to appear for further investigation at another time.

According to his lawyer, Asghar Mehdizadeh was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1982 on charges of supporting the People's Mojahedin Organization. He was released after 13 years and had been taken to death row several times, but had not been put on death row.

Hamid Nouri's lawyer said that Asghar Mehdizadeh claimed to be present in the execution room and that he saw 12 prisoners "hanging from the gallows, and Nasserian (Mohammad Moghiseh), Abbasi (Hamid Nouri), and Davud Lashkari were there. He said that Nasserian ordered the prisoners to be cleared, but from the fourth person onward, the individuals themselves took their feet off the chairs and threw themselves into the air. He said that the IRGC hung from the hanging bodies so that the executed would finish them off sooner..."

Hamid Nouri's lawyer asked Asghar Mehdizadeh to explain further on this matter, and he said: "Nasserian (Mohammad Moghiseh) knocked over two chairs..."

Hamid Nouri's lawyer said that Asghar Mehdizadeh's statements in court contradicted his statements to the police, and that he did not mention Abbasi (Hamid Nouri) and (Davoud) Lashkari to the police, and said that Naserian (Mohammad Moghiseh) threw five or six chairs, and after questioning by the police, he said that Abbasi (Hamid Nouri) and (Davoud) Lashkari were also there.

He said that Asghar Mehdizadeh's account in this regard is available word for word on the Mojahedin website, and it appears that he is presenting this account from this site.

According to Hamid Nouri's lawyer, Iraj Mesdaghi, a political prisoner in the 1960s, has questioned this narrative in his book.

Asghar Mehdizadeh responded that Iraj Mosdaghi wrote his book based on hearsay. He accused Iraj Mosdaghi of colluding with the Islamic Republic, saying: “Iraj Mosdaghi insults us and our organization, and he says whatever the Revolutionary Guards and the Islamic Republic regime say.”

Regarding the date of execution of Kazem Sanatfar, another prisoner, lawyer Hamid Nouri said that the date narrated by Asghar Mehdizadeh is different from the date given in Iraj Mesdaghi's book and Mahmoud Royaei's book.

Asghar Mehdizadeh responded that Iraj Mesdaghi had been in prison until August 5, had not been on death row, and had gathered his information from various people.

Nouri's lawyer then asked Asghar Mehdizadeh about another prisoner, saying that during police interrogation, he said that this prisoner was taken to execution in a wheelchair, but in court he said that he was taken on a stretcher. He asked if he was in a wheelchair or on a stretcher.

Asghar Mehdizadeh replied that he was on a stretcher and that they were not providing him with any facilities.

Nouri's lawyer also spoke about other dates in Asghar Mehdizadeh's narratives, including the date of the execution of a prisoner named Khairollah Jalali, which contradicts Iraj Mesdaghi's book and Mahmoud Royaei's book.

Asghar Mehdizadeh said: "Iraj Mesdaghi wrote that Khairollah was executed on Sunday, while Khairollah was in the same ward as us and Iraj Mesdaghi was not there that day."

Hamid Nouri has denied the charges brought in court. He is scheduled to answer questions in court on December 2. According to Hamid Nouri's lawyer, his position is that "these executions never happened and he cannot accept the charges."

Hamid Nouri's lawyer claims that his client was on leave due to the birth of his child at the time of the executions in August and September 1988.

The trial of Hamid Nouri, which will continue until April next year in the Stockholm court in Sweden, has also prompted a reaction from the Islamic Republic's authorities.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called Mr. Nouri's trial "a design" by the People's Mojahedin Organization on September 1, claiming that the Swedish court "based on a series of stories, documentation, and false witness statements, all carried out by a small group."

Source: Radio Farda