Amir Hossein Moradi (25 years old), who was arrested during the protests in November 2019, no longer felt safe. Saeed Tamjidi (27 years old) and Mohammad Rajabi (25 years old) decide to leave the country and go to Turkey. They made it to Antalya. In Turkey, however, the police arrested and deported them to Iran in violation of the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Islamic Republic police were waiting the other side of the border, as if Turkish police had already made the necessary arrangements. They are arrested as soon as they enter Iran.
This information was provided to Shima Babaei, a human rights activist, by one of Saeed Tamjidi’s acquaintances. Ms. Babaei Tweeted:
“Saeed was protesting, but the accusations against him are pure lies. I can never believe that they have captured this passion of life and want to take its life. His family is terrified and does not know what to do with this tragedy. Should the answer to a young man’s protest with empty hand be death? We were happy he did not get shot at protests. Now they have sentenced him to death and told his family to stay quiet.”
Saeed Tamjidi, Mohammad Rajabi and Amir Hossein Moradi were sentenced to death in two court hearings on February 26 and 27 in Branch 15 of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati. In addition to the death penalty, the three men were sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison and 222 lashes.
The Appeals Court had taken several minutes without any attorney present for the accused. During the whole trial process, these three young men were not allowed to have an attorney of their own. The appointed public defenders were in favor of the judge and not their clients. Today, June 24, 2020, Islamic Republic’s Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence and it may be carried out any day.
Amnesty International issued a statement calling for immediate action on February 28, 2020, in response to the death sentences of the three protesters.
Amir Hossein Moradi was tortured with a shocker in the interrogation office, Amin Naseri, an official of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office threatened Amir Hossein with staying in solitary confinement to force confession out of him. Also, a security police interrogator has stood on his chest that cracked his ribs. After being transferred to Evin, he was interrogated 13 times by Ministry of Intelligence agents and forced to write a confession with the promise of getting treatment in return. All three protesting citizens have been severely beaten by Gisha security police officers to force confessions against themselves out of them.
