Third day of trial for accused of participating in summer 2018 executions; Hamid Nouri told prisoners, "We will repeat Ashura for you."

Hamideh Armideh, a VOA correspondent who went to Stockholm to cover news related to the trial of Hamid Nouri, said in her report on the third day of the trial that unlike the previous two days, there was no widespread gathering or sloganeering by protesters in front of the trial of Hamid Nouri, accused of participating in the executions of the summer of 2018, and the atmosphere was plunged into a heavy silence.

The report states that the third session of the trial began with the display of various maps of Gohardasht Prison to clearly illustrate to the court the conditions of the prison wards and the route taken by the prisoners, whose names were read and who were being led to the death squad.

According to this report, Christina Lindhoff Carlson, the prosecutor in the case, stated that the witnesses in the case have all emphasized that Nasserian, Lashkarian, and Hamid Nouri were the three individuals responsible for announcing the names and directing them to the death squad.

According to the prosecutor, the prisoners were only as far from death as answering a few short questions before the death squad. Questions such as “Is the prisoner willing to condemn the MEK and its leadership?” “Is the prisoner still loyal to the MEK’s ideals?” and “Is the prisoner willing to cooperate with the Islamic Republic?” Those who did not answer these questions correctly faced the death penalty. Prisoners who escaped execution had to sign affidavits in addition to absolving themselves of MEK.

The report continues by saying that the prosecutor emphasized that many witnesses in the Hamid Nouri case remember the exact date of their appearance before the death squad. The prosecutor provided detailed explanations in court about how the executions began and were carried out on the first two days, based on the book by Iraj Mesdaghi, one of the witnesses and plaintiffs in the case and one of the main factors in the arrest and detention of Hamid Nouri.

According to the documents in the case, the executions on the first two days were carried out outside the main prison building and in a separate location. In order to announce the names of the executed and the method of execution, the prosecutor also referred to information in two books by Mahmoud Royaei, one of the witnesses and plaintiffs in the case and a member of the People's Mojahedin of Iran Organization.

A large part of the first hour of the trial was devoted to announcing the names of those executed on the first few days, how they were led to execution, and Hamid Nouri's behavior and interactions with the prisoners. According to the testimonies in the indictment, Hamid Nouri spoke to the prisoners with contempt and mockery, and repeatedly announced, with a box of chocolates in his hand, that today was the day of Ashura for the Mujahideen.

The prosecutor read a section of Iraj Mesdaqi's book to the audience, which states: "After the execution of each group, Hamid Nouri happily offered bread, cream, and sweets to his colleagues and prisoners waiting on the death row, and repeatedly repeated the phrase that the Ashura of the Mujahideen continues." The prosecutor explained that, according to witnesses in the case, Hamid Nouri, while drawing a pen on the radiator of the hall, mockingly said to the prisoners, "We will repeat Ashura for you."

During the third day of the hearing, the book of Hossein Farsi, one of the witnesses in the case and a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization, was also read as one of the written documents by the prosecutor in the courtroom. In a part of this book that the prosecutor read, Hossein Farsi wrote that on Friday afternoon, August 11, 2018, Hamid Abbasi (Nouri) came and read the names of 20 people and indicated to two of his colleagues to take these people with them. Hamid Abbasi (Nouri) repeated many times with a sickening laugh that today is the Ashura of the Mojahedin. Hossein Farsi wrote in his book that he was surprised that Abbasi (Nouri) used the word Mojahedin instead of the hypocrites and that he told himself that this group of prisoners would never return to their cells.

The prosecution's indictment states that survivors testified that the bodies of the executed were transported in refrigerated trucks. Many witnesses in the case have mentioned the smell of the bodies, which was disturbing to the prisoners.

The trial of Hamid Nouri began on Tuesday morning, August 10, in Stockholm, Sweden, and lasted three days. Hamid Nouri is accused of participating in war crimes and premeditated murder. Four lawyers are representing four groups of witnesses and plaintiffs in the case.

It is said that Daniel Marcus and Thomas Soderqvist, two lawyers defending this case, have been retained by the Islamic Republic Embassy to defend Hamid Nouri. The Islamic Republic Embassy has not yet responded to media requests for comment on the case. The next court session will begin on Tuesday, August 17.

Source: Voice of America