A source forwards an English translation, posted on the opposition website Rah-e-Sabz on 5 January, of the Tehran military prosecutor's 27-page indictment against 12 alleged perpretrators of the post-election abuses and killings at the Kahrizak detention centre. The text is introduced with a lengthy analysis:
The full text of the indictment against the accused in the Kahrizak case, signed by the Deputy Military Prosecutor of Tehran, Abbas Parsapour, has recently come to the possession of the Jaras (the Rah-e Sabz (Green Path) Movement). The document, file number 88/4703 and dated 25 Azar 1388 (16 December 2009), is organized in 27 pages. Twelve names appear in this indictment as the accused.
Eleven of the 12 accused who are charged with the crimes in this case are members of the armed forces and one person is a civilian, a hooligan who worked with the law enforcement forces. The highest ranking accused in this case is the commander of the Law Enforcement Forces in the Greater Tehran area (Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh).
The names of several high-ranking officials of the judiciary also appear in the indictment, but apparently these individuals who issued the orders (making the detainees subject to the conditions in the Kahrizak Detention Center) have not been officially acknowledged by this document as the accused. This indictment is only concerned with the doers of the crimes (individuals who have been physically responsible for the crimes) and has not been organizationally permitted to bring charges against the persons who have given the orders.
Another important point in relation to this indictment is that it is solely based on the complaints filed by the torture victims themselves and is not based on charges made by the prosecutor or the country's prosecutor general. The meaningful absence of the prosecutorial charge in this indictment means that the system has no complaints against the accused in this case, because the perpetrators acted on their duties and not as rogue elements in this case. Other documents have also come to the possession of Jaras (the Rah-e Sabz --- Green Path --- Movement) that will gradually be published.
Jaras calls on all the jurists and attorneys at law to review and assess the Kahrizak documents from a legal point of view. Kahrizak is the mirror that reflects adjudication and justice in the Islamic Republic (of Iran).
From the text of the indictment:
At the time of commitment to the Kahrizak Detention Center, all the accused must remove their clothing and become nude in full view of the others present and at times are forced to remain in that condition (remain unclothed) for a long period of time. Their undergarments are taken away from them and thrown away. Then, they are forced to wear their outer garments inside out ....The thugs and hooligans in the detention center would also walk around in a nude or semi-nude state among the detainees who were brought to the Kahrizak Detention Center as a result of the post-election incidents and would harass and assault them....
By the order of the higher-ups, the detention center officers buried one of the detainees in a hole in the ground up to his waist and battered him for 10 hours without giving him any food or water....Even though it was summer time and the weather was unbearably hot, they divided the detainees who were sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center after the election into four groups and threw them into the cages (sic) that were specially made to contain thugs and hooligans....
According to the available documents, enough space did not even exist to allow the detainees to sit down, and most of the detainees had to spend all night standing up....There were only two toilets available for all the persons kept in the detention camp. One of them was not working, and the other did not have a door. The detainees had to go everywhere barefooted, including the bathroom ... All the detainees developed infections in the eyes ... Constant assaults and beatings with the fists, kicks, beatings with PVC pipes, and other violent physical assaults on the detainees and the summer heat had caused many of the detainees who were arrested during the recent (i.e., post-election) incidents to lose consciousness and pass out ...
Now, 16 months after the closing of the Kahrizak Detention Center and several months after the conclusion of the report by the special committee of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) that looked into the incidents inside that detention center --- which had caused several detainees who had been arrested in the post-election protests to lose their lives --- the indictments for the individuals who have been charged in connection with those incidents in this national dossier have been made public.
Sometime ago, the deputy head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces in charge of legal affairs, talking about the latest legal status of the Kahrizak Detention Center case, has indicated: "From our perspective, the judicial review of the Kahrizak case has come to a conclusion and like the other cases it has been referred to the Supreme Court for appeal."
It must be noted that, during the incidents that followed the 1388 (2009) presidential election in Iran, a large number of the detainees who were arrested during the protests on 18 Tir (9 July 2009) were sent to the terrifying Kahrizak Detention Center (situated in the south of Tehran) by the order of security officials and the officials of the judiciary such as Judge Sa'id Mortazavi, then the Prosecutor General of Tehran. There, the detainees were assaulted and tortured, and some of them lost their lives as a result of those tortures. The relevant authorities, including the then Prosecutor General of Tehran (Sa'id Mortazavi), claimed that those deaths were caused by "meningitis and illness", but those claims were strongly denied by the coroner's office.
The Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces also issued a statement on the 9th of Tir of this year (30 June 2010) holding two law enforcement agents responsible for the killing of three detainees (Amir Javadifar, Mohsen Ruholamini, and Mohammad Kamrani). The statement also indicated that the two officers who were found guilty were condemned to death (qesas), the payment of blood money (diyeh), imprisonment, temporary suspension from service, and flogging. At the same time, the other defendants in the case, nine law enforcement officers and a civilian, were also condemned to sentences such as imprisonment, the payment of blood money (diyeh), temporary discharge from service, and flogging for various charges. However, immediately after that news was announced, a member of the Majles investigative committee that was set up to look into the events that followed the (2009) presidential election in Iran issued a statement condemning the announcement by the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces. According to this member of the Majlis, revealing the names and information about the victims and the accused in the Kahrizak case at that juncture was in violation of the law.
In a related development, on Sunday 28 Azar 1389 (19 December 2010), after several months and many ups and downs, finally the news sources were able to obtain the text of the 27-page indictment of some of the accused in this national case and make it available to the media.
According to a report by Jaras, this indictment by the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, which is dated 25 Azar 1388 (16 December 2009), provides a description of the inhumane and tragic conditions at the Kahrizak Detention Center and depicts some of the conduct of the 12 accused parties in the case--11 of whom are law enforcements officers--based on their own admissions. The indictment also notes that violence, beatings, and physical assaults against the detainees have apparently been a "routine practice" in that detention center.
This indictment brings charges against the accused based on their own "confessions and admissions". The charges include "murder", "participating in the commission of murder" through assaulting the detainees, torturing and abusing the detainees, depriving the prisoners of their basic rights, filing false reports, and threatening the complainants in this case.
The indictment also identifies the accused and makes mention of their ranks: Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh, Colonel Faraj Kamijani, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian, Colonel Ravanbakhsh Fallah, Colonel Mohammad Amerian, 3rd Lieutenant Seyyed Kazem Ganjbakhsh, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Akbar Rahsepar, Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Hamid Zandi, Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Majid Varva'i, and Sergeant 2nd Class (gorohban dovom) Mehdi Hoseynifar. Besides these 11 accused who are members of the armed forces, references are also made to a 12th accused person, a civilian by the name of Mohammad Reza Karami. He is a known hooligan with a long record of prior offenses who was appointed by the authorities at the Kahrizak Detention Center as "the person responsible for the section" and had played an active part in the abuse, assault, and murder of the detainees.
In the fourth section of the indictment, the document highlights assaults and abuses that have led to the deaths of the victims according to the reports from the coroner's office and writes, "The late Mohsen Ruholamini, 25 years of age, died of physical and psychological stresses caused by numerous physical blows and poor keeping conditions. The cause of death was systematic inflammatory reactions of the vital organs and organ failures ... The late Amir Javadifar, 25 years old, according to a report by a group of medical experts at the office of the coroner, died as a result of the blows by a hard object (to his head and body). He died on the way from the Kahrizak (Detention Center) to the Evin (Prison) ... The late Mohammad Kamrani, 18 years of age, died after having been transferred to the hospital as a result of the complications associated with kidney and organ failures as a result of (repeated) blows by a hard object."
In another part of this indictment, references are made to Dr Ramin Pourandarjani, the physician at the Kahrizak Detention Center who himself died under mysterious circumstances sometime later. According to the confessions made by the accused, Dr Pourandarjani and his superior both refused to sign the false report that indicated that the prisoners died of meningitis. Finally, the report in question was signed by the accused themselves and sent to the officials of the judiciary.
Another important point in this section of the indictment is the reference to the role that (Judge) Sa'id Mortazavi, then Prosecutor General of Tehran, played in this affair and the orders that he issued. "After Dr Ramin Pourandarjani and his superior (Dr Farahmandpour) refused to sign the false report about the cause of the deaths of the detainees, a letter was dictated and prepared by Sa'id Mortazavi and was given to the (Kahrizak) officials in which Mortazavi had indicated that, due to certain expediencies, the officials in question were to file a report with the judicial authorities that cited meningitis as the cause of detainees' deaths. The commander of the law enforcement (forces) in the Greater Tehran (Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh) also had issued orders for cooperation in this regard ..."
The officials in question had indicated in their false report that, "according to the Mehr Hospital, the Shohada Hospital in Tajrish, and the Loghman Hospital, all the three accused had died as a result of meningitis and that they have not been assaulted by any means or in any way while they were in the (Kahrizak) Detention Center ..."
References also have been made (in the indictment) to the role that (Hassa) Hadad, Deputy Tehran Prosecutor for Security Affairs, played in these incidents and the orders that he had issued for the transfer of the detainees who were arrested on 18 Tir (9 July) to the Kahrizak Detention Center.
Another noteworthy point in this indictment is that, contrary to what had been indicated earlier, tens of individuals who were arrested during the demonstrations on the 18th of Tir 1388 (9 July 2009) were sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center. According to the document, those detainees were sent to the section designed for thugs and hooligans and there they were made subject to special assaults and abuses. Many of these former detainees who were arrested during the post-election protests and were sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center carried the effects and injuries of those assaults for months after they were freed and until the time that this indictment was being prepared.
The indictment sheds some light on the tortures and the role that the perpetrators and those who had issued the orders had played in this affair.
Jaras calls your attention to the full text of the indictment that is being published in its entirety for the first time:
(Page 1 of the indictment by the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces)
Date: 25 Azar 1388 (16 December 2009)
Number: .....................
Attachment: 47 03/88 (Translator's note: A reference to this number appears in the caption above in the form of "file Number 88/4703.")
The Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces
In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful
Indictment
The honorable head of Tehran Military courts
Greetings,
In this dossier, binder 88/5878,
A- The accused and the charges against them:
1- Lieutenant Colonel Faraj
Kamijani son of Hoseyn, the year of birth 1341 (1962), Identity Certificate Number 2684 issued in Kamijan, Shi'a, unit of service Fateb (head of the Kahrizak Detention Center), literate, married, no prior (criminal) record, resident of Tehran, arrested on 25 Mordad 1388 (16 August 2009) under warrant for temporary detention is charged with:
a) Issuing orders for assaults against the detainees (at the Kahrizak detention Center);
b) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights;
c) Participation in the creation and filing of a false report;
d) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
2- Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi son of Abdollah, the year of birth 1351 (1972), Identity Certificate Number 5 issued in Kangavar, Shi'a, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), literate, married, no prior (criminal) record, in service since 1376 (1997), resident of Tehran, arrested on 25 Mordad 1388 (16 August 2009) under warrant for temporary detention is charged with:
a) Participation in the assaults leading to premeditated murder (the late Amir Javadifar, the late Mohsen Ruholamini and the late Mohammad Kamrani);
b) Participation in the assaults and offenses against complainants (Hoseyn Baghban, Erfan Nazari, Masoud Ebrahimi, Hamed Sadrodini, Shahin Fathi, Mohsen Sadeqi Esfahani, Reza Tavakoli, Behnam Reza'i, Hoseyn Emami Taleqani, Poriya Ramezanian, Nader Khobreh, Amir Asghari, Eshaq Reza'i Niaraki, Amir Aghchelu, Hamed Malekzadeh, Masoud Alizadeh, Seyyed Milad Hoseyni, Reza Fazeli Mostakhdem, Masam Kargar, Ali Najjari, Homan Rajabi, Hataf Soltani, Taha Zaynali, Reza Ahamdi, Amir Emani, Ali Jalilvand, Mehdi Bahmanzadeh, Saman Ganji, Sadeq Sowlati, Peyman Shahna'i, Mehdi Mohammadi Fard, and Hoseyn Nasr Esfahani);
c) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights;
d) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
3- Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian son of Seyfollah, the year of birth 1362 (1982), Identity Certificate Number 2 issued in Natanz, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), resident of Tehran, married, no prior (criminal) record, arrested on 25 Mordad 1388 (16 August 2009) under warrant for temporary detention is charged with:
a) Participation in the assaults leading to premeditated murder (the late Amir Javadifar, the late Mohsen Ruholamini, and the late Mohammad Kamrani);
b) Participation the assaults and offenses against complainants (Hoseyn Baghban, Erfan Nazari, Masoud Ebrahimi, Hamed Sadrodini, Shahin Fathi, Mohsen Sadeqi Esfahani, Reza Tavakoli, Behnam Reza'i, Hoseyn Emami Taleqani, Poriya Ramezanian, Nader Khobreh, Amir Asghari, Eshaq Reza'i Niaraki, Amir Aghchelu, Hamed Malekzadeh, Masoud Alizadeh, Seyyed Milad Hoseyni, Reza Fazeli Mostakhdem, Masam Kargar, Ali Najjari, Homan Rajabi, Hataf Soltani, Taha Zaynali, Reza Ahamdi, Amir Emani, Ali Jalilvand, Mehdi Bahmanzadeh, Saman Ganji, Sadeq Sowlati, Peyman Shahna'i, Seyyed Masoud Razavi, Mehdi Mohammadi Fard, and Hoseyn Nasr Esfahani);
c) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights;
d) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
4- Civilian Mohammad Reza Karami (known as Mohammad Tifil) son of Ali, the year of birth 1362 (1982), Identity Certificate Number 7687 issued in Tehran, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, resident of Tehran, single, prior penal record, arrested on 2 Shahrivar 1388 (24 August 2009) under warrant for temporary detention is charged with:
a) Participation in the assaults leading to premeditated murder (the late Amir Javadifar, the late Mohsen Ruholamini, and the late Mohammad Kamrani);
b) Participation the assaults and offenses against complainants (Hoseyn Baghban, Erfan Nazari, Masoud Ebrahimi, Hamed Sadrodini, Shahin Fathi, Mohsen Sadeqi Esfahani, Reza Tavakoli, Behnam Reza'i, Hoseyn Emami Taleqani, Poriya Ramezanian, Nader Khobreh, Amir Asghari, Eshaq Reza'i Niaraki, Amir Aghchelu, Hamed Malekzadeh, Masoud Alizadeh, Seyyed Milad Hoseyni, Reza Fazeli Moghadam (sic; in prior mentions it is listed as Mostakhdem), Masam Kargar, Ali Najjari, Homan Rajabi, Hataf Soltani, Taha Zaynali, Reza Ahamdi, Amir Emani, Ali Jalilvand, Mehdi Bahmanzadeh, Saman Ganji, Sadeq Sowlati, Peyman Shahna'i, Mehdi Mohammadi Fard and Hoseyn Nasr Esfahani);
5- Colonel Ravanbakhsh Fallah son of Bahram, the year of birth 1342 (1963), Identity Certificate Number 89 issued in Roodbar, Shi'a, literate, Head of Fateb (law enforcement) Inspection, in service since 1360 (1981), married, no prior (criminal) record, resident of Tehran, arrested on 23 Shahrivar 1388 (14 September 2009) under warrant for temporary detention is charged with:
a) Participation in the filing of a false report;
b) Recklessness and disregard for regulations concerning services leading to fatalities and physical injuries;
c) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights;
d) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
6- Colonel Mohammad Amerian son of Rahim, the year of birth 1344 (1965), Identity Certificate Number 232 issued in Shahrood, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, unit of service Fateb (head of the Fateb Inspections Operations), married, no prior (criminal) record, resident of Tehran, detained from 23 Shahrivar 1388 (14 September 2009) to 30 Aban 1388 (21 November 2009) and then freed on bail, is charged with:
a) Recklessness and disregard for regulations concerning services leading to fatalities and physical injuries;
b) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people;
c) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights.
7- (IRGC) Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh son of Salman, the year of birth 1335 (1956), Identity Certificate Number 1015 issued in Tehran, commander of the Law Enforcement Forces in Greater Tehran, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, in service since 1357 (1978), married, no prior (criminal) record, resident of Tehran, free on bail, is charged with:
a) Ordering the filing of a false report;
b) Recklessness and disregard for regulations concerning services leading to fatalities and physical injuries.
8- 3rd Lieutenant Seyyed Kazem Ganjbakhsh son of Seyyed Ali, the year of birth 1356 (1977), Identity Certificate Number 655 issued in Gonabad, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, married, prior criminal record, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), resident of Bajestan, detained from 11 Shahrivar 1388 (2 September 2009) to 22 Azar 1388 (13 December 2009) and then freed on bail, is charged with:
a) Committing assault and offence against a complainant (Masoud Alizadeh);
b) Recklessness and disregard for regulations concerning services leading to fatalities and physical injuries;
c) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
9- Master Sergeant (ostovar) Akbar Rahsepar son of Jom'eh Ali, the year of birth 1359 (1980), Identity Certificate Number 104 issued in Khoramabad, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), married, in service since 1378 (1999), no prior (criminal) record, resident of Tehran, detained from 11 Shahrivar 1388 (2 September 2009) to 23 Aban 1388 (11 November 2009) and then freed on bail, is charged with:
a) Committing assault and offense against complainants (Homan Rajabi, Hataf Soltani, Taha Zaynali, Mehdi Bahmanzadeh, and Saman Ganji);
b) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights;
c) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
10- Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Hamid Zandi son of Ali Ghorban, the year of birth 1359 (1980), Identity Certificate Number 2677 issued in Malayer, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, prior penal record, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), married, resident of Gharchak-e Varamin, detained from 15 Shahrivar 1388 (6 September 2009) to 23 Azar 1388 (14 December 2009) and then freed on bail, is charged with:
a) Committing assault and offense against complainants (Hoseyn Mahmoudi, Seyyed Milad Hoseyni, Mohamamd Sadeghloo, Porya Hoseyn, and Hoseyn Nasr Esfahani);
b) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people;
c) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights.
11- Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Majid Varva'i son of Mahmoud, the year of birth 1356 (1977), Identity Certificate Number 13718 issued in Kermanshah, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, resident of Tehran, no prior (criminal) record, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), single, detained and kept in detention for the lack of ability to post bond from 23 Aban 1388 (14 November 2009) to 11 Azar 1388 (2 December 2009) and then freed on bail, is charged with:
a) Committing assault and offense against complainants (Yaghub Salimi, Porya Hoseyn, Hoseyn Nasr Esfahani, Mehdi Mohammadi Fard, and Majid Nokhostin Sarbaz);
b) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people.
12- Sergeant 2nd Class (gorohban dovom) Mehdi Hoseynifar son of Mahmoud, the year of birth 1363 (1984), Identity Certificate Number 13718 issued in Kermanshah, Shi'a, citizen of Iran, literate, resident of Tehran, no prior (criminal) record, unit of service Fateb (Kahrizak Detention Center), married, in service since 1386 (2007), was detained from 12 Mehr 1388 (4 Septemberr 2009) to 23 Azar 1388 (14 December 2009) and then freed on bail, is charged with:
a) Participation in the assault and offense against complainants (Mir Masoud Razavi, Porya Hoseyn, Hoseyn Nase Esfahani, Yaghub Salimi, and Mehdi Mohammadi Fard);
b) Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the Law Enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people;
c) Depriving the detainees of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens subject to the article of law on Respect for Legitimate Rights.
B- The formation of the dossier:
Following the report by the Supervision of the Rights of the Citizenry and Inquiry Board of the Ministry of Justice in the Province of Tehran, orders by the honorable First Deputy of the Judiciary, and the closing of the Kahrizak Detention Center by the orders of the Exalted Supreme Leader, a dossier was created in the Office of the Tehran Military Prosecutor and was sent to Branch 1 of the Investigation Division. A thorough investigation ensued that involved making in-depth inquiries from the complainants, the witnesses, and the informed parties, examinations of the location, placing numerous requests for information from relevant authorities, introducing the complainants to the coroner's office, and receiving in-depth opinions and analyses of the nature and extent of the injuries and harms suffered by the complainants as well as the causes of death of the deceased victims, summoning the accused in the case for investigation, and (finally) holding face to face meetings between the accused, the complainants, and the witnesses.
The following is a brief description of the background of the investigations, the steps that were taken, and the results that were achieved:
1. The history of the Kahrizak Detention Center, the (general) conditions at that center, the actions of the officials and officers in charge of the said center, and the results of the investigations:
The Kahrizak Detention Center is located 15 kilometers outside Kahrizak in the south of Tehran and was established for the purpose of detaining thugs and hooligans. The center was under the direct supervision of the law enforcement forces of the Greater Tehran, and it was not under the jurisdiction of the Prisons Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A general description of the conditions of the said center is as follows;
1-1. The center in question had six regular and two quarantine sections. The living space of the quarantine section that housed the detainees who were arrested (during the protests) on 18 Tir 1388 (9 July 2009) was about 65 (square) meters and lacked suitable lighting or air conditioning systems.
1-2. Upon arriving at the Kahrizak Detention Center, the detainees were told to remove all their clothing in the full view of the onlookers by the order of the officer on duty and according to the complainants some were kept nude for 45 minutes. Their undergarments were taken away from them and were thrown out and they were told to wear their clothes inside out. The officers cited attempts to prevent infestation with lice as the reason for that action.
1-3. All the 18 Tir (9 July) detainees (123 detainees) were kept in a quarantine section at the Kahrizak Detention Center, which had at the most 65 (square) meters of living space. Then the authorities in charge of the detention center added 37 other detainees, who were already serving time in detention centers and were (officially) classified as thugs and hooligans, to that group. Considering the fact that it was summer time, the air inside the quarantine section in question was extremely hot and unbearable. The other detainees of the recent incidents were also divided into four groups of a number of individuals each and they were kept in cages (sic) that were especially made for thugs and hooligans and had very small spaces. A number of individuals were kept in each cage.
1-4. Inside the quarantine section in question, the individual detainees did not have room to sit down and most of the detainees had to spend the entire night standing up.
1-5. The only ventilation inside the quarantine section in question were five very small windows at the top of the quarantine (area) and according to the detainees three of those windows were shut.
1-6. Only two toilets existed next to the quarantine section in question. One toilet was out of order and the other did not have a door. The detainees had to stand in a long line to use the one bathroom and to go there barefooted. There was no bath or shower facility at the detention center and the detainees had no access to a bath or showers to wash themselves.
1-7. There was only one water faucet in the quarantine section in question and even that was not hygienic.
1-8. The gasoil fumes from the engine room entered into the quarantine section and further contaminated the air in that area.
1-9. One of the detainees in Kahrizak by the name of Mohammad Reza Karami, known as Mohammad Tifil, who was detained on charges of being a "thug and hooligan," was put in charge of the section by the head of the Kahrizak Detention Center, Colonel (Faraj) Kamijani. This inmate was not at all suited for that position. He had numerous prior criminal records, had previously stayed in the same detention center for 13 months, and was a very violent individual.
1-10. The officer(s) on guard duty and the person in charge of the section, Mohammad Tifil, on numerous occasions battered the incoming detainees and severely beat and assaulted them with them pipes.
1-11. The daily ration of the detainees at the Kahrizak Detention Center consisted of one small potato and half a piece of lavsh bread that was given to them twice a day. This led to the severe deterioration of the detainees' physical conditions, which reduced their bodies' resistance to diseases and to assaults.
1-12. Severe assaults and battering of the detainees by the guard duty officer(s) and the inmate in charge of the section caused numerous injuries. In addition to that, the general conditions of the detention center, the unsuitable health conditions, and the unhygienic environment led to numerous infections in their bodies. The detainees who were brought to Kahrizak while Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian was on duty on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009) and those who came in on 20 Tir 1388 (11 July 2009) during Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi's shift were assaulted most severely.
1-13. In spite of the presence of a physician and a medical assistant at the Kahrizak Detention Center, the environment at the detention center was very unhygienic and the quarantine section was filled with a foul and unpleasant odor. The requests by the detainees to be sent to the infirmary were routinely ignored. Those detainees who were sent to the infirmary did not receive proper medical care. The detainees did not even receive the medicines that the doctors had prescribed for them.1-14. The quarantine section was without carpet and all the persons who were there were barefooted. The overall unhygienic conditions led to many infections, and all the detainees had eye infections. Some were suffering from fainting and were foaming from the mouth.
1-15. According to the statements by the complainants, some of the thugs and hooligans who were placed with the detainees in the quarantine section were moving among them in states of nudity or semi nudity which showed that the authorities in the Kahrizak Detention Center were not mindful of ethical or religious standards and were not enforcing those rules.
1-16. There were no facilities or places for the detainees at the Kahrizak Detention Center to say their daily prayers.
1-17. From the time that the detainees were arrested until the time that they were transferred to the Evin Prison, the families of the detainees were not informed of the whereabouts of their children and were under anguish. The lack of information about their children's whereabouts caused these families to repeatedly contact the office of the coroner, the office of the public prosecutor, the hospital, and other health care centers in search of their children. While an address and two separate telephone numbers were taken from each detainee at the time of detention, no steps were taken to inform the families of the whereabouts of their children.
1-18. The marks and evidence of assaults and beatings were quite visible on the bodies of many detainees at the time of inquiry in the office of the prosecutor in spite of the fact that several months had passed since their detention at the Kahrizak Detention Center. The examinations and reports by the office of the coroner also verify that the detainees had been subject to battering and assaults (pp. 629; 639; 786; 877; 978; and ...).
1-19. The officers who accompanied the detainees on their transfer from the Kahrizak Detention Center to the Evin Prison (including (3rd) Lieutenant (Seyyed Kazem) Ganjbakhsh and Master Sergeant (ostovar) (Akbar) Rahsepar) showed gross disregard for the deteriorating condition of some of the detainees and insulted them in spite of the fact that the other detainees were constantly warning the officers in charge about the critical states of the detainees in question.
1-20. The officers who accompanied the detainees on their transfer from the Kahrizak Detention Center to the Evin Prison refused to give water to the detainees. Upon arriving at the Evin Prison, the late Mohsen Ruholamini went into coma before he even was registered at the prison. In the meantime, 3rd Lieutenant (Seyyed Kazem) Ganjbakhsh continued to approach this issue with complete disregard (for the life of the late Mohsen Ruholamini).
1-21. (Lieutenant) Colonel Faraj Kamijani (head of the Kahrizak Detention Center) was fully aware of the fact that the detainees were being battered and assaulted by the officers. Yet, when he learned of the passing of one of the detainees by the name of Amir Javadifar, in order to avoid the responsibility and put forth the suggestion that his death was caused by meningitis, he approached Dr Farahmandpour, head of the Fateb (unit) infirmary, and asked him to write up the cause of Javadifar's death as meningitis and say that he died inside the Kahrizak Detention Center. He even presents Dr Farahmandpour with a prewritten text and asks him to sign the text, which Dr Farahmandpour refuses to do. Following that incident, Colonel Toumari, from the office of the head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) (as presented), Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh (commander of the Law Enforcement Forces in Greater Tehran) contacts Dr Farahmandpour via telephone and asks him to sign the text in question. Colonel (Dr) Farahmandpour again refuses to sign the false report. It is at that point that Colonel (Faraj) Kamijani turns to Dr (Ramin) Purandarjani who was assigned to the Kahrizak Detention Center infirmary in the course of his (mandated) military service and asks him to sign that false report. Dr (Ramin) Purandarjani also refuses to sign the text. Ultimately, a false report was prepared by Colonel (Ravanbakhsh) Fallah in the form of a letter addressed to the Tehran Revolution and General Prosecutor and signed by Colonel (Faraj) Kamijani that indicated that: 1) Mohsen Ruholamini has suffered from a convulsion after having been transferred to the Evin Prison and while in that prison's quarantine section and subsequently had been taken to the Shohada Hospital in Tajrish by the (Evin) infirmary personnel. 2) According to the Mehr Hospital, the Shohada Hospital in Tajrish, and the Loghman Hospital, all of the three accused had died as a result of meningitis. All three hospitals have cited meningitis as the cause of death for the three deceased detainees. 3) The infirmary of the Kahrizak prison 210 has also cited respiratory complications, heart failure, and meningitis as the cause of death for the accused (Amir) Javadifar. 4) The (deceased) accused had not been assaulted by any means or in any way while they were in the (Kahrizak) Detention Center (pp. 2,691-92 of the dossier, volume 14 (sic)). Also the accused individuals (Colonel Ravanbakhsh) Fallah and (Colonel Faraj) Kamijani claim that the text of the false letter (addressed to the Tehran Revolution and General Prosecutor) was handed to them by the former Prosecutor General of Tehran, Mr Sa'id Mortazavi. Mr Mortazavi had told them that they should present that report to the Tehran Revolution and General Prosecutor for certain expediencies (page 1,814 of the dossier, volume 9). Also, as indicated on page 1,985 of the (present) dossier, volume 10, Colonel (Ravanbakhsh) Fallah claims that he had called the office of (IRGC) Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh (commander of the law enforcement forces in Greater Tehran) from the office of the Prosecutor General of Tehran (Sa'id Mortazavi) to inform him of Mr Mortazavi's request. According to Colonel Fallah, Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh had ordered him to cooperate with the (former) Prosecutor General of Tehran (Sa'id Mortazavi).
2. How were the detainees who were arrested during the post-election incidents received at the Kahrizak Detention Center:
2-1. A person by the name of Mir Masoud Razavi was the first person arrested during the post-election incidents to be sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center by the Fateb security police on 25 Khordad 1388 (15 June 2009). He was released from prison on 20 Tir 1388 (18 July 2009). While in detention, he was held in various sections populated by thugs and hooligans.
2-2. On 26 Khordad 1388 (16 June 2009) a group of 18 detainees all of whom were arrested during the recent incidents in Tehran (prior to 18 Tir (9 July 2009) were also sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center. This group comprised Hesam Kamangar, Amir Arsalan Mohammadzadeh, Hoseyn Mahmoudi, Amin Shafi'i, Ali Azimi, Arvin Alizadeh, Mohammad Reza Moniri, Hassan Razaghi, Seyyed Abuzar Musavi, Sattar Rahimi, and Akbar Ezzati. This group was transferred to the Evin Prison on 6 Tir 1388 (27 June 2009), 11 days after arriving at the Kahrizak Detention Center. While in Kahrizak, the above named individuals were kept in section 3 of the Kahrizak Detention Center along with 26 detainees who were officially classified as "thugs and hooligans."
2-3. Again on 29 Khordad 1388 (19 June 2009) two persons by the names of Porya Hoseyn and Mehdi Mohamamdifar were sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center, were kept in detention, and were later transferred to the Evin Prison on 6 Tir 1388 (27 June 2009). These two detainees were also kept in the sections with thugs and hooligans.
2-4. On 3 Tir 1388 (24 June 2009), nine persons by the names of Amir Hoseyn Baba'i, Amir Sohrabi, Yaghub Salimi, Nima Nokhostin, Ramin Aghazadeh Ghahramani, Majid Nokhostin, Hojat Darvishi, Majid Sohrabi, and Saman Abuzari were sent to the Kahrizak Detention Center. They were transferred to the Evin Prison on 6 Tir 1388 (27 June 2009) and were released from Evin on 8 Tir 1388 (29 June 2009).
2-5. On 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009), at 15:30, 22 detainees arrived at the Kahrizak Detention Center. The detainees in question were Morteza Mohammadipour, Amir Aghari, Mehdi Pourshabumi, Morteza Sohrabi, Ali Bakhshayeshi, Hamed Pouladi, Shahram Kordestanchi, Hafez Mohtaj, Vahid Vakili, Siyavosh Yusef-Shahi, Bahmad Omidvar, Behzad Ansari, Nader Ahamdi, Amir Aghchelu, Mohammad Aghabalazadeh, Nader Jowlani, Milad Haqpour, Ali Reza Ardalan, Mohammad Reza Mirza Ali Akbar, Sajad Nurmohammad-abadi, Faramarz Mafakheri, and Davood Mansuri. The group was taken to the Kahrizak Detention Center by the security police. After they were admitted into Kahrizak, the group was divided into a number of smaller groups and those smaller groups were housed in different sections occupied by thugs and hooligans.
2-6. Again at 18:30 on the same day, that is to say, on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009), 118 detainees who were arrested on 18 Tir 1388 (9 July 2009) (and whose names are registered in the prison roster) were take to Kahrizak Detention Center by the security police. These arrivals were kept in the quarantine section.
2-7. On 22:00 of the same day, 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009), five new detainees by the names of Yusef Emami, Hamed Naderi, Ahamd Zamanpour, Sajad Abadi Azar, and Shahram Reza'i were also taken to the Kahrizak Detention Center by the security police.
2-8. The 145 detainees who were taken to the Kahrizak Detention Center on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009) in three separate groups (22+118+5) were transferred to the Evin Prison after having spent five days in Kahrizak by the order of the Tehran Revolution and General Prosecutor's deputy for security affairs on 23 Tir 1388 (14 July 2009). Three of these detainees passed away.
3. The statements by the complainants and informed sources about the assaults and beatings of the detainees:
Following the deaths of the three deceased detainees and, as the accused who were arrested during the recent unrests were gradually released from prison, besides the families of the three deceased, 98 of those (former) detainees filed complaints about the treatment that they had received (while in custody in Kahrizak).
The complainants claim that they became subject to assaults and insults upon arriving at Kahrizak by the officers on duty and that they were forced to remove all their clothing and to stand naked in full view of the onlookers. They were then taken to the 65 (square) meter quarantine section, and 37 Kahrizak inmates, the (so-called) thugs and hooligans, were also put in there with them. The complainants also claim that facilities did not exist for them to attend to their religious duties (i.e., daily prayers). They further say that their diet while in custody was very unsuitable and that they were given some bread and a potato twice a day and that their drinking water was also very unhygienic.
One of the complainants by the name of Mir Masoud Razavi has filed a complaint saying that one of the guards on duty at the time had buried him in a ditch up to his waist for 10 hours in an area outside the detention camp and had left him there from 8:00 PM on 25 Khordad 1388 (15 June 2009) to 6:00 AM on 26 Khordad 1388 (16 June 2009) without any water, food, or anyone to watch over him. The investigations from the guard in question (Sergeant 2nd Class (gorohban dovom) Mehdi Hoseynifar) show that he had confessed to having committed the deed, but he also claimed that he had done so by the orders of the head of the Kahrizak Detention Center. However, after a face to face confrontation (with Lieutenant Colonel Faraj Kamijani) he recanted his previous confession and confessed as indicated on page 2,260 of the dossier that he alone was responsible for that action and that he had done it to calm his anger.
It must be noted that 51 complainants have agreed during the course of the inquiries to withdraw their complaints, but the families of the three deceased detainees and the rest of the complainants have insisted on going through with their complaints.
The complainants in this dossier are Messrs Morteza Sohrabi (p. 92, Vol. 1); Hamed Naderi (p. 96, Vol. 1); Hamed Puladi (p. 97, Vol.1); Samad Mahami (p. 97, Vol. 1); Mohammad Hoseyn Rashidnia (p. 209, Vol. 2); Nima Vaziri (p. 211, Vol. 2); Farid Ebrahimzadeh (p. 217, Vol. 2); Emad Yaganeh (p. 258, Vol. 2); Hamed Sadodini (p. 274, Vol. 2); Davood Mansuri (p. 277, Vol. 2); Shahin Fathi (p. 292, Vol. 2); Reza Zoughi (p. 378, Vol. 2); Hoseyn Emami Taleqani (p. 410, Vol. 2); Amir Aghchelu (p. 558, Vol. 3); Masoud Alizadeh (p. 576, Vol. 4); Porya Ramezanian (p. 531, Vol. 3); Akbar Taheri (p. 548, Vol. 3); Mohammad Mohammadpur (p. 572, Vol. 3); Milad Hoseyni (p. 683, Vol. 4); Seyyed Ashkan Khorasani (p. 637, Vol. 4); Maysam Kargar (p. 643, Vol. 4); Ali Najjari (p. 681, Vol. 4); Ali Reza Hoseynian (p. 720, Vol. 4); Homan Rajabi (p. 726, Vol. 4); Hatef Soltani (p. 730, Vol. 4); Taha Zaynali (p. 735, Vol. 4); Mehdi Bahmanzadeh (p. 849, Vol. 5); Reza Ahmadi (p. 751, Vol. 4); Saman Ganji (p. 854, Vol. 5); Ali Reza Esfahani (p. 868, Vol. 5); Nader Najafi (p. 1,139, Vol. 6); Peyman Shahabi (p. 1,154, Vol. 6); Mohammad Mohammadpur (p. 1,220, Vol. 9); Hoseyn Nasr Esfahani (p. 1,039, Vol. 10); Davood Mansuri (p. 1,186, Vol. 6); Faramarz Mafakheri (p. 90, Vol. 1); Hoseyn Baghban (p. 155, Vol. 1); Saman Mahami (p. 222, Vol. 2); Reza Ebrahimzadeh (p. 239, Vol. 2); Mehdi Maleki (p. 249, Vol. 2); Ali Akbar Khoshakhlagh (p. 380, Vol. 2); Mohammad Farokhi Yaganeh (p. 499, Vol. 3); Hamed Zandifar (p. 505, Vol. 3); Mohammad Sadeghlu (p. 716, Vol. 4); Hamid Hajarha (p. 781, Vol. 4); Mohammad Mohammadi (p. 115, Vol. 5); Ahmad Zamanpur (p. 144, Vol. 5); Sadegh Sowlati (p. 1,128, Vol. 6); and Mohammad Farokhi Yaganeh (p. 499, Vol. 3) (Translator's note: this last name is a repeat). They have filed complaints that include charges such as assaults with batons and fists, repeated kicking, beatings with belts, physical confrontations, and physical punishments such as jumping while in a sitting position on one or two legs and having been forced to go around on all fours on hot asphalt at noon.
The families of the deceased detainees have also asked for qesas (death sentences) (pages 689, 1,112, and 1,174 of the dossier).
4. The deceased, summary of the conditions, and the cause of death:
4-1. The late Mohsen Ruholamini, the year of birth 1363 (1984), was 25 years old at the time of death. On 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009) he was introduced to the Kahrizak Detention Center by the Tehran Security Prosecutor's Office (Dadsara-ye Amniyat-e Tehran) and was taken into custody on a warrant for temporary detention. His physical condition because of the beatings and assaults that he had received in Kahrizak was very weak (text: disagreeable), and the officers in charge not only did not concern themselves with his condition but also proceeded to insult him as well. His condition had so deteriorated that he, prior to his admission into the Evin Prison on 23 Tir 1388 (14 July 2009), went into coma as a result of the assaults, unsuitable living conditions, and maltreatments that he had received in the Kahrizak Detention Center. The officers on duty, after much unjustified delays and procrastination, were finally forced to transfer him to the Shohada (Martyrs) Hospital in Tajrish. There, the officers who had taken him to the hospital hid his true identity and declared him to be of unknown identity. The individual in question passed away at the hospital in the morning of 24 Tir 1388 (15 July 2009) at 6:10 AM. As shown on pages 655, 656, and 657 of volume 4 of the present dossier, the examination of the body during the autopsy showed numerous marks and signs of assaults and injuries that have been documented in the coroner's report. The medical commission at the coroner's office consisting of 13 medical specialists has identified the marks and injuries as signs of assault and declared the cause of death as "physical and psychological stresses caused by numerous physical blows and poor keeping conditions. The cause of death was systematic inflammatory reactions of the vital organs leading to organ failures and ultimately death. The tests taken at the hospital reveal no infections spread through blood and meningitis (as was claimed). Accordingly, injuries caused by the assaults and beatings by hard objects have led to the subject's death (page 650, volume 4)." Subsequently, the medical commission at the coroner's office consisting of seven medical examiners, responding to a question by the investigating judge, declared the subject's death as having been caused by the blows and injuries that the subject had suffered during the 72 hours prior to his death (page 2,250, volume 11).
4-2. The late Amir Javadifar, the year of birth 1363 (1984), was 25 years of age at the time of death. He was introduced to the Kahrizak Detention Center by the Tehran Security Prosecutor's Office (Dadsara-ye Amniyat-e Tehran) and was taken into custody on a warrant for temporary detention on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009). His physical condition because of the assaults during the arrest and also the beatings that he had received at the Kahrizak Detention Center was very critical. He died of those injuries and further harms that he had suffered due to the conditions at the Kahrizak Detention Center in the bus and on the way to the Evin Prison as he was being transferred to the prison on 23 Tir 1388 (14 July 2009) at 12:15 PM. The examination of the body during the autopsy, as described on pages 653 and 654, volume 4, reveals numerous marks and injuries resulting from assaults that have been documented by the coroner's office. The 13-man medical commission also has declared his death to have been caused by numerous blows against soft tissues of the body and complications resulting from blows by a hard object (page 652, volume 4). The seven-man commission of medical examiners at the coroner's office, responding to a question by the investigating judge, also declared the subject's death of having been caused by the blows and injuries received during the 72 hours prior to his death (page 2,251, volume 11).
4-3. The late Mohammad Kamrani, year of birth 1370 (1991), was 18 years of age at the time of death. Kamrani was introduced to the Kahrizak Detention Center by the Tehran Security Prosecutor's Office (Dadsara-ye Amniyat-e Tehran) and was taken into custody on a warrant for temporary detention on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009). After four days in Kahrizak, while he was being transferred to the Evin Prison, he went into coma. He was first taken to the Loghman-e Hakim Hospital and was then transferred by his father to the Mehr Hospital where he passed away on 25 Tir 1388 (16 July 2009). The examination of the body during the autopsy revealed signs of numerous assaults that have been documented (page 659, volume 4). The 13-man medical commission, confirming the signs of assault on the body of the deceased, declared his death to have been caused by kidney failure as a result of numerous blows by hard objects to the muscle tissues (page 659, volume 4). Also, responding to a question by the investigating judge, the seven-man committee of medical examiners declared the subject's death of having been caused by the blows and injuries received during the 72 hours prior to his death (page 2,249, volume 11).
5. Results of the inquiries from the accused:
5-1. Lieutenant Colonel Faraj Kamijani, the head of the Kahrizak Detention Center:
The individual in question gave the orders for accepting the new detainees who were arrested during the recent incidents in spite of the limited capacities of the Kahrizak Detention Center. He cited an order by the IRGC (Brigadier) General Azizollah Rajabzadeh, as conveyed to him by Colonel Amerian, as the reason for that decision. According to the confessions made by the officers as well as the statements by the complainants, Colonel Faraj Kamijani had issued the orders for the assaults against the detainees. The colonel in question (Kamijani) had indicated in the course of the investigations that all the officials at the Fateb post were fully aware of the conditions at the Kahrizak Detention Center and that all actions were coordinated with those officials. Regarding the detainees' rations and why they were not given sufficient food, the accused indicated that the decisions were made at the higher levels of command and noted that Kahrizak was not a detention center. They (i.e., the higher-ups) had created a garbage dump (sic). They would only send two tankers of water to the detention center and two rations of food for the detainees. The accused admits that, by the order of Colonel Fallah, he had sent a false report to the Tehran Revolution and General Prosecutor saying that, "According to the Mehr Hospital, the Shohada Hospital in Tajrish, and the Loghman Hospital, all the three accused had died as a result of meningitis and that the infirmary at Kahrizak also had cited meningitis and heart failure as the primary cause of death for (Amir) Javadifar. (Furthermore,) the accused have not been assaulted by any means or in any way while they were in custody at the (Kahrizak) Detention Center."
Also, according to the contents of the dossier and eyewitness testimonies, the accused had been present and had personally witnessed the officers and guards in Kahrizak assaulting the detainees (pages 1,005, 897, 993, 997, 1,215, 1,848, 1,563, 1,724, and 2,464-2,467, volume 12, of the dossier).
5-2. Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi, officer on guard duty on 20 Tir 1388 and 23 Tir 1388 (11 July 2009 and 14 July 2009):
The said individual took the detainees out of the quarantine section on 20 Tir 1388 (11 July 2009) at 13:00 and forced them to sit on hot asphalt and jump on one or two legs or walk on all fours on hot asphalt. He also would force some of the detainees to ride on the others as they would engage in those actions on hot asphalt. Anyone who refused was beaten with PVC pipes. The accused claims that he was ordered by Colonel Faraj Kamijani to beat and assault the detainees, and some of the detainees (sic; it is not clear whether the "detainees" in this case is a reference to the original detainees at the Kahrizak center or the accused in this dossier) have also testified to that effect.
The Master Sergeant (ostovar) in question took three detainees by the names of Masoud Alizadeh, Saman Mahami, and Ahamd Baluchi out of the quarantine under the pretext of disorderly conduct at 22:00 on the same day (20 Tir 1388 (11 July 2009)) and severely battered them. He ordered them to be hung by their feet and beaten by pipes. He participated in the beating of the three detainees along with two other accused in this case, Mohammad Karami and Lieutenant (Seyyed Kazem) Ganjbakhsh (dossier, pp. 166, 927, volume 5; p. 1,163, volume 6; p. 1,354, volume 7; p. 1,789, volume 9; and 893 (volume ?)).
In the course of the inquiries, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi openly confessed to the assaults and battering of the detainees as explained on page 933, volume 5, of the dossier. However, he claims that Colonel Fallah, Inspection Officer of the Greater Tehran Law enforcement Command, and Colonel Kamijani, the head of the Kahrizak Detention Center, had ordered him to treat the detainees roughly and without mercy, otherwise he would be disciplined and would receive reprimands.
In addition to the cases cited above, the accused, faced with former detainees, had admitted to other instances of assaults against the detainees as indicated on page 166 of volume 1; pages 893 and 927 of volume 5; pages 1,165, 1,167, and 1,219 of volume 6; page 1,354 of volume 7; pages 1,788 and 1,790 of volume 9; and page 2,361 of volume 12.
5-3. Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian, officer on guard duty on 19 Tir 1388 and 22 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009 and 13 July 2009):
The said individual, according to the contents of the dossier, had ordered the detainees to remove all their clothes on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009) upon their arrival at the Kahrizak Detention Center and had beaten and assaulted the detainees. He has openly admitted to battering the detainees in the course of the investigations and claims that he had done so in keeping with the routine practices at the Kahrizak Detention Center (pages 1,002 and 931 to 944 of volume 5, and page 1,359 of volume 7 of the dossier).
The accused was the officer on duty on 22 Tir 1388 (13 July 2009) at the Kahrizak Detention Center. He ordered the detainees out of the quarantine section for a roll call and then along with the accused Mohammad Karami proceeded to batter them with PVC pipes. In addition to that, the accused, as indicated on pages 889 of volume 5, 936 of volume 5, 1,358 of volume 7, and 2,360 of volume 12, has confessed to other instances of assault against the detainees in face to face meetings with the complainants who have accused him of those assaults.
5-4. Civilian Mohammad Reza Karami (known as Mohammad Tifil):
The individual in question has a long criminal record and was among the inmates at the Kahrizak Detention Center who were classified as thugs and hooligans. He was put in charge of the (quarantine (?)) section by the order of Colonel Faraj Kamijani, the head of the Kahrizak Detention Center. In the course of the investigations, he has admitted that acting on the orders of the camp officials he has insulted (sic) the detainees with a PVC pipe and has attacked and assaulted them. He has hung three of the detainees by the names of of Masoud Alizadeh, Saman Mahami, and Ahamd Baluchi by their feet and has punished (sic) them. He has used various excuses to insult, abuse, and physically assault the detainees (pages 1,348 and 2,407 through 2,409 of the dossier (sic; volume?)). He, in the company of officers on duty, had attacked and physically assaulted all the detainees (who were arrested in post-election incidents) during the five days from 19 Tir 1388 through 23 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009 and 14 July 2009). In addition to that, he has freely admitted to another incident of assault against one of the complainants in this case (page 770 of volume 4 and page 2,407 of volume 6) and has accepted other charges of assault made against him by a number of other complainants following arranged face to face meetings with those complainants (page 782, volume 4).
5-5. Colonel Ravanbakhsh Fallah, head of Fateb (law enforcement) Inspection:
The said individual admits that on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009), having received the order from the office of IRGC Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh via telephone to send the detainees of the recent disturbances to the Kahrizak Detention Center, he conveyed that order to Colonel Amerian. The accused also admits that, following the necessary coordination with IRGC Brigadier General (Azizollah) Rajabzadeh and acting on orders from the Prosecutor General of Tehran (Sa'id Mortazavi), he has prepared a false letter about the victims' cause of death and in it he has forwarded the claim that the detainees had not been mistreated at the Kahrizak Detention Center. That letter was submitted to (Lieutenant) Colonel (Faraj) Kamijani (head of the Kahrizak Detention Center) to be signed (pages 1,015, 1,158, 1,814 through 1,816, 2,458, and 2,459 as well as the minutes of the arranged face to face confrontation between IRGC Brigadier General (Azizollah) Rajabzadeh and Colonel Fallah as recorded on page 1,985 of volume 10 of the dossier).
As recorded on page 1,814 of volume 10 of the dossier, Colonel Fallah admits that Mr (Sa'id) Mortazavi, then prosecutor general of Tehran, indicated to him that such a letter must be prepared for certain expediencies and that Mr Mortazavi himself had dictated the text to Colonel Fallah (who had written it down).
5-6. Colonel Mohammad Amerian, head of the Fateb Inspections Operations:
The said individual admits that on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009), following a telephone conversation with the Adjutant to the Commander of the Law Enforcement in Greater Tehran who conveyed IRGC Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh's order, and also after a telephone conversation with Colonel Ravanbakhsh Fallah, head of Fateb (law enforcement) Inspection, he had given an order to the officer on duty at the Kahrizak Detention Center to admit the detainees to the detention center in spite of the fact that the center in question lacked appropriate facilities and standards. He had visited the Kahrizak Detention Center in person on 21 Tir 1388 (12 July 2009) and, although according to the statements by Lieutenant Colonel Faraj Kamijani appearing on pages 2,314 and 2,440 of volume 12 he inspected the quarantine section in the company of Lieutenant Colonel Kamijani, and although he knew that the detainees were living under desperate conditions from the standpoint of water, food, health care, hygiene, and medical treatment, he has not taken any effective action to solve the detainees' problems (pages 431, 1,007, 1,156, 1,721, 2,434 and 2,435 of volume 12 and also the minutes of the arranged face to face confrontations between Colonel Amerian, (Colonel) Kamijani, (Lieutenant Seyyed Kazem) Ganjbakhsh, and (Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim) Mohammadian as described on pages 2,438 through 2,440 of volume 12 of the dossier).
5-7. (IRGC) Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh, commander of the law enforcement forces in Greater Tehran:
The said individual has indicated during the course of the investigations that briefly speaking he had not approved of the predetermined treatment that the detainees were generally receiving. Therefore, he had ordered in the Ordibehesht of 1388 (Ordibehesht: 21 April to 21 May 2009) that no member of the law enforcement had the right to assault the detainees. During his tenure as the commander of the law enforcement forces in Greater Tehran until the closing of the Kahrizak Detention Center, he had visited that center only on one occasion. Nevertheless, considering the fact that (IRGC) Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh was the commander of the law enforcement forces in Greater Tehran and the fact that the detention center in question was operating under that command, he has failed to provide satisfactory and acceptable reasons for why he should not be held ultimately responsible for what was taking place under his command. Regarding the order for the filing of the false report, the notes of the arranged face to face confrontation between Colonel Fallah and General Azizollah Rajabzadeh (as appearing on page 1,985 of volume 10 of the dossier) shows that Colonel Fallah, acting under order from General Azizollah Rajabzadeh, had prepared the said false letter and had handed it to the then Tehran prosecutor after it was signed by Colonel Kamijani (pages 1,300, 1,502 to 1,506, 1,986 and 1,987 of volume 10 of the dossier).
5-8. 3rd Lieutenant Seyyed Kazem Ganjbakhsh, deputy officer on duty 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009):
The above mentioned individual has assaulted and delivered insults to the detainees as they were being admitted to the Kahrizak Detention Center on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009). On the night of 20 Tir 1388 (11 July 2009), accompanied by Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi, he removed Masoud Alizadeh from the quarantine section and battered him. Also, the above mentioned individual accompanied the detainees from the Kahrizak Detention Center to the Evin Prison, and, although many of the detainees were not in a good physical condition because of the mistreatment at Kahrizak, he has not treated the detainees in an appropriate fashion. Several instances of mistreatments have come to light in the course of the investigations by witness accounts (page 899 of volume 5, pages 1,217 and 811 through 813 of volume 4, and pages 2,425 and 2,426 of volume 12 of the dossier).5-9. Master Sergeant (ostovar) Akbar Rahsepar, deputy officer on duty 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009):
The above named individual was one of the officers at the Kahrizak Detention Center who on 19 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009), as the deputy officer on duty, assaulted the detainees as they arrived at Kahrizak. On 23 Tir 1388 (14 July 2009), he also accompanied the detainees as they were being transferred from the Kahrizak Detention Center to the Evin Prison. During the transfer, again he insulted and mistreated the detainees, and, although the late Javadifar's condition inside the bus seemed to be very critical and in spite of the repeated warnings by the detainees to that effect, he refused to take Javadifar to the emergency room and ultimately Javadifar passes away in the bus. After his passing, he (Rahsepar) returned the corps with a van back to the Kahrizak Detention Center. The person in question (i.e., the accused) has admitted to having assaulted the detainees, and eyewitnesses have testified to that effect during the course of the investigations (pages 601, 824, 1,002, 1,379, and 1,840 of the dossier (volume(s)?)).
5-10. Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Hamid Zandi:
The said individual had forced the detainees to become naked at the time of admission and has abused and assaulted them. In the course of the inquiries, he has admitted to making the detainees naked according to the usual practice and to having assaulted them (pages 919, 1,037, 1,766, 1,772, 2,420, and 2,421 of volume 12 of the dossier).
5-11. Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Majid Varva'i, attendant of the detention center:
The said individual who was an attendant at the Kahrizak Detention Center according to statements by a number of the complainants and eyewitness accounts has abused and assaulted the detainees as they were being transferred to the Evin Prison. Considering the statements of the eyewitnesses and informed sources as recorded on pages 2,331 through 2,336 of volume 12, his abuse of the detainees is certain and his denials are without validity.
5-12. Sergeant 2nd Class (gorohban dovom) Mehdi Hoseynifar, officer on duty 25 Tir 1388 (16 July 2009):
The above named individual had openly admitted in the course of investigations that he had taken one of the detainees by the name of Seyyed Masoud Razavi, who had been arrested during the recent incidents, outside the area of the detention center and, in order to intimidate and frighten him, had thrown him into a ditch and had covered the ditch up (to his waist). He had left him there half buried overnight without a guard and had returned on the following day to dig him out. He also has admitted to beating and assaulting other detainees (pages 926, 996 through 998, 1,241, 1,234, 1,780, 1,516, 1,697, 1,705, 2,422 and 2,423 of the dossier (volume (s)?).
C- The reasons for the charges against the accused:
1- On the charge of murder against Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian, and civilian Mohammad Reza Karami: Taking into account the contents of the dossier and the results of the investigations, the other individuals who have been accused of assaulting the detainees (3rd Lieutenant Seyyed Kazem Ganjbakhsh, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Akbar Rahsepar, Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Hamid Zandi, Sergeant 2nd Class (gorohban dovom) Mehdi Hoseynifar, and Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Majid Varva'i) had not participated in the assaults against the three deceased detainees. The accused Kazem Ganjbakhsh and the accused Mehdi Hoseynifar had participated in the assaults against a number of other detainees and complainants but have succeeded in convincing some of them to drop the charges. The three deceased individuals were not among those detainees that these two accused persons had assaulted. The accused Majid Varva'i and the accused Akbar Rahsepar were basically attendants who accompanied the prisoners and only participated in the assaults against a specific number of the detainees at the time of their admission into the Kahrizak Detention Center while the detainees were outside the quarantine section and during their transfer from the Kahrizak Detention Center to the Evin Prison. Master Sergeant 2nd Class (ostovar dovom) Hamid Zandi was on leave when the detainees who were arrested on 18 Tir (9 July) were kept at the Kahrizak Detention Center, and the charges of assault against him relate to those detainees who were at Kahrizak prior to that time. As a result, documented assaults leading to the death of the three deceased detainees are only attributed for certain to the three accused individuals in this case, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi, Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian, and civilian Mohammad Reza Karami. Therefore, due to the following reasons, the charge of willful murder is brought against these three individuals in keeping with Section B, Article 206 of the Islamic Penal Code:
1-1. In the case of willful assaults leading to the deaths of the three deceased detainees, the records of the prison indicate that Master Sergeant (ostovar) Ebrahim Mohammadian and Master Sergeant (ostovar) Mohammad Khamisabadi were the officers on guard duty during the time that the detainees were kept at the Kahrizak Detention Center, that is to say, from 19 Tir 1388 through 23 Tir 1388 (10 July 2009 to 14 July 2009). Mohammad (Reza) Karami was present inside the detention center and was acting as the inmate in charge of the section. Taking into account the opinion of the seven-man commission of the medical examiners who indicated that the deaths were caused by the blows and injuries that were received (about) 72 hours prior to the deaths and also considering the fact that the three deceased detainees had died on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of Tir 1388 (14th, 15th, and 16th of July 2009), respectively, the three accused individuals in question (Khamisabadi, Mohammadian, and Karami) can be said without a doubt to be the parties responsible for those deaths.
1-2. The task of the officers on guard duty was to control and supervise the prisoners, and, of all the people who were working at the prison, with the exception of the head of the prison, only the officers on guard duty had the authority to enter into the sections of the prison, including the quarantine section. Even if there was a need for other personnel, for instance the personnel from the prison infirmary, to enter into the sections, they had to do so with the permission of the officers on guard duty and in their presence. Considering the fact that according to the contents of the dossier and the statements of the complainants most of the complaints about the assaults are directed at the officers on guard duty and the inmate in charge of the section (Mohammad Reza Karami), and since some of the complainants have identified the three accused persons (Khamisabadi, Mohammadian, and Karami) as the assailants (who assaulted the deceased detainees) at the General Inspections Office of the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic, the fact has been established that the three persons in question have indeed been the ones who assaulted the three dead detainees.
1-3. The deplorable conditions of the quarantine section that was the holding place for the 18 Tir (9 July) detainees, including the three deceased, had weakened the detainees to a considerable degree. The lack of hygiene, malnourishment, the hot and contaminated air in the closed space, the absence of ventilation, contaminated water, and the absence of medical care and medicine had all contributed to the weakening of the bodies and to the low resistance against the blows and injuries caused by assaults. Considering the opinion of the commission at the coroner's office that the injuries resulting from the assaults have caused the deaths of the three deceased detainees, there is no doubt that the three assailants are directly responsible for those deaths.
1-4. Considering the fact that the Kahrizak Detention Center was a place that was especially created to house thugs and hooligans, beating and assaulting the detainees had become a normal and routine practice at that center. The incidents that had taken place in that center prior to the recent (2009) presidential election and the fact that no one had held the authorities at that center accountable for those incidents only made them bolder in their practices. Consequently, they beat and assaulted the detainees, including the three deceased detainees, thinking that again no one was going to hold them accountable for their actions.
1-5. Some of the complainants in this case have quoted certain officers and detention center authorities having made remarks to the effect that "some of the detainees would die in this prison," or that "the detainees must give telephone numbers so that their corpses would be handed over to their families," or similar remarks to that effect. This indicates that the officers at that detention center were engaging in criminal activities (assaulting and injuring the detainees).
1-6. Taking the fact into account that the three accused had willfully and intentionally assaulted the victims and that the assaults considering the circumstances explained in section 1-3 were essentially deadly, therefore, the consequences of those assaults, which were the deaths of the victims, have also been willful. The legal department of the judiciary according to opinions 7/5667 and 7/4981, which had been delivered on 14 Aban 1384 (5 November 2005) and 15 Mehr 1384 (7 October 2005), respectively, has emphasized that, when an action is willful and intentional, the consequence of that action, whether it results in injury or death, is also intentional.
1-7. Taking into account the opinion of the coroner's office that the assaults and injuries that the victims suffered some 72 hours prior to their deaths have caused their demise and that the three accused had all actively participated in those assaults and blows that the three victims suffered at that time, according to articles 214 and 215 of the Islamic Penal Code their participation in the murder is established, regardless of how many times each has delivered a blow against an individual victim.
1-8. Considering the conditions at the Kahrizak Detention Center and the physical conditions of the three deceased detainees at the time of their passing, and the nature of the assaults and blows delivered by the assailants, it becomes clear that the intention to bring about serious injury and death has been implicit. That makes their action subject to Section B of Article 206 of the Islamic Penal Code.
2- On the issue of negligence and disregard for government regulations leading to fatalities and physical (text: bodily) injuries:
The (IRGC) Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh as the commander of the law enforcement forces in Greater Tehran, Colonel Ravanbakhsh Fallah as the head of Fateb (law enforcement) Inspection, and Colonel Mohammad Amerian as the head of the Fateb Inspections Operations Department, because of the positions and responsibilities that they had held, had to exercise command, manage, and supervise the organizations and units under their jurisdiction, which included the Kahrizak Detention Center. Meanwhile, the officers in charge of the Kahrizak Detention Center have repeatedly ignored the guidelines and acted outside their legal duties in their treatment of the detainees (pages 1,083, 1,106, and 1,112 of volume 6), have assaulted them, and caused numerous injuries, which in three cases have led to the deaths of the victims. It is clear that, if the three above named individuals (Rajabzadeh, Fallah, and Amerian) had upheld their legal duties and exercised proper management and supervision, and having seen instances of law breaking had held the lawbreakers accountable for their actions, the assault of the detainees would have not become a routine and regular practice at the Kahrizak Detention Center. The fact that the supervision of the detention center and its management had been assigned to the inspection office does not mean that the law enforcement command in Greater Tehran has no responsibility in this regard. According to Article 4 of the Armed Forces Disciplinary Code, the person in the position of command is responsible for what the units under him do or do not do.
3- On the issue of filing a false report and the question of the relevant order:
As for the charge of filing a false report, the specifics of which have been detailed in section 1-21 of the present indictment, and taking into account the clear admissions of the accused Colonel Ravanbakhsh Fallah and the accused Lieutenant Colonel Faraj Kamijani (as they appear on pages 967, 1,017, 1,019 of volume 5, page 1,158 of volume 6 and pages 1,814 and 1,815 of volume 9 of the dossier), and the claim by Colonel Fallah about his contact via telephone with (IRGC) Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh informing him of the position of the former prosecutor general of Tehran (Sa'id Mortazavi) about creating a false report on the cause of death of the three deceased, and General Rajabzadeh's response ordering cooperation with the then prosecutor general of Tehran (pages 1,814 and 1,815 of volume 9), and General Azizollah Rajabzadeh's implicit admission to the fact (as appearing on page 1,985 of volume 10), then it is established that the order for the false report has come from General Rajabzadeh and that Colonel Fallah and Colonel Kamijani played an active part in the creation of the false report in question.
4- On the issue of depriving the prisoners of the rights stipulated in the constitution and ignoring their rights as citizens:
According to articles 22 and 39 of the constitution (of the Islamic Republic of Iran), the life, dignity, and rights of individuals are protected against violation, and any affront to the dignity and repute of a person who according to the law has been arrested, detained, and imprisoned is forbidden and liable to punishment. Also, according to articles 4 and 5 of the law to respect the legitimate freedoms and to protect citizens rights, the people who have committed crimes or are accused of having committed crimes must be treated according to the Islamic standards and the families of the detainees must be informed of their arrests. A review of the contents of the present dossier, as it has been previously explained, shows that the said articles and principles have been violated by the accused (individuals in this case).
5- Unbecoming conduct undermining the standing and reputation of the law enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)) in the eyes of the people:
Considering the mismanagement of the affairs at the Kahrizak Detention Center and the absence of appropriate supervision by the officials of the Fateb law enforcement inspection and also considering the conditions that existed inside the prison from the standpoint of hygiene, food, health care, medicine, and medical treatment and the inappropriate treatment of the detainees by the personnel in Kahrizak, which included battering, abusing, insulting, and degrading the prisoners and depriving them of their basic needs and all the other actions that we have pointed to in the present indictment, and, furthermore, considering the fact that three of the detainees have died as a direct result of the beatings and assaults that they suffered in the hands of the agents in Kahrizak which became known to the media which brought their deaths and the conditions at the Kahrizak Detention Center to the attention of the public and ultimately led to the closing of the said detention center by the order of the Exalted Supreme Leader, and also considering the fact that the Kahrizak Detention Center was under the management and supervision of the law enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all these taken together has caused the public in general and especially the detainees and their families to develop a very dim view of the law enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic (NAJA (Iranian acronym)).
Accordingly, in the view of what has come above, the charges leveled against the accused in this case are ascertained and according to articles 57 (as relates to section "c," article 78 of the Armed Forces Penal Code, the note to article 269 and article 614 of the Islamic Penal Code), 205, 206 (section "b"), 214, 215, 269 (note 2), 367, 403, 408, 424, 425, 442, 480, 481, 484, 485, 570, 608, and 614 of the Islamic Penal Code and articles 54, 55, and 78 (section "c") of the Armed Forces Penal Code and in view of articles 42, 47, and 48 of the Islamic Penal Code (as relate to (3rd Lieutenant) Seyyed Kazem Ganjbakhsh and Mohammad Reza Karami) and the law of inquiry about the terms "insult," "offense," and "affront" in (the Iranian) penal codes ratified in 1379 (2000), we hereby ask for all the above named accused (in this case) to be sentenced (according to the terms of the law).
The above listed crimes have taken place in the month of Tir of the year 1388 (Tir: 22 June to 22 July 2009) in the judicial jurisdiction of the Province of Tehran.
Deputy Military Prosecutor of Tehran
Abbas Parsapour
(Signature)
25 Azar 1388 (16 December 2009)
It must be noted that, sometime ago, as this case was being reviewed, some (new) evidence and documents came to light that pointed to the active and decision-making role that Sa'id Mortazavi, the former Prosecutor General of Tehran, and a number of other senior officials of the judiciary played in the Kahrizak tragedy. Consequently, the former Prosecutor General of Tehran Sa'id Mortazavi; (Hassan) Haddad, Tehran's Deputy Prosecutor on Security and the head of the Directorate of Security; and (Ali Akbar) Heidarifar (or Heydarifar), Assistant to the Special Prosecutor for Matters of Security, were suspended from office. However, because of the support of certain extralegal institutions and also the head of government (i.e., the president), the judiciary "so far" (sic) has not been able to confront the big players in the Kahrizak case.
Last month, the secretary of the Majles' Article 90 Committee (Gholam Reza Asadollahi) had indicated that "Sa'id Mortazavi has gone to court, his dossier at the Prosecutor's Office in Charge of Investigating Government Employees is still open, and he has been suspended from all his judicial responsibilities." He further pointed out that, "in 1385 (2006), Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroodi (then the head of the judiciary) had issued the order for the Kahrizak Detention Center to be closed down, but Mortazavi blocked that order and did not allow that center to be closed down."
(Sa'id Mortazavi) has currently been appointed by (Iranian President) Mahmoud Ahmadinezahd as the head of Iran's Task Force Against the Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange and as such enjoys a security margin and continues to be under the protection of his protectors.