Murder conviction issued for suspect in Mehran Samak murder
The first instance court issued a verdict of premeditated murder for the accused in the murder of protest victim Mehran Samak.
Mehran Samak is one of the victims of the nationwide protests in Bandar Anzali. He was shot dead by a shotgun on the evening of December 27, 1922, after the national football team lost. He was only 27 years old when he was shot in the street.
The presence of protesters in the streets, accompanied by honking and chanting slogans in protest of the players' performance, also drew reactions 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 judicial follow-up and efforts to punish the officer who committed the crime of "failing to comply with the law on the use of weapons" and the death of Mehran Samak.
Jafar Javanmardi, the former commander of the Bandar Anzali police force, is the defendant in the Mehran case. He was the commander of the police force before Mehran's murder, but he was dismissed from this position and arrested after Mehran was shot and killed. Majid Ahmadi, the lawyer for Mehran Samak's family, had announced in an interview with Shargh in February 2022 that the former commander of the Anzali police force was charged with "failure to comply with the law on the use of weapons leading to intentional murder." According to his statements, the defendant in the case was working as a police force commander at the time of Mehran's murder, and the case was filed in a military court. Now, after months of investigation, this court has issued a verdict of intentional murder. This verdict has been referred to the Supreme Court for reconsideration upon the objection of the defendant and his lawyers.
It should be noted that, given the nature of the charges against Jafar Javanmardi, the defendant in this case, he is still in temporary detention, and the Samak family, as the parents and plaintiffs in the case, did not object to the verdict issued by the lower court in the first days of this year.
Mehran Samak's lawyer also concluded by answering the question (why the judiciary has remained silent about this case and has refused to provide official information from the judiciary), saying: "It seems that this question should be asked by the media to the highest officials of the judiciary. Without a doubt, this case is one of the most important cases of the judiciary in recent months, and public opinion is following it closely. It was expected that the judiciary's spokespersons in their press conference, like other important cases, would inform the general public as much as possible about the Mehran Samak case. This expectation continues to exist from us and the people."
