Amnesty International Condemns Execution of 'Coin Sultan' and Accomplice

Amnesty International has strongly condemned the execution of Vahid Malakoutian, known as the 'Coin Sultan', and his accomplice Mohammad Ismail Qasemi, describing it as 'abhorrent' and a 'violation of international law'. Philip Luther, director of research and legal affairs for Amnesty International in the Middle East and North Africa, stated on Wednesday, November 14, in response to this event: 'Iranian officials have shamefully violated international law with these abhorrent executions, once again demonstrating their shameless disregard for the right to life.' Malakoutian and Qasemi were executed early Wednesday in Tehran. They were accused of 'forming a corruption network, disrupting the economic and currency system of the country through illegal and unauthorized transactions and large-scale currency and coin smuggling', but Amnesty International emphasizes that their trial process was clearly 'unfair', and the defendants did not even have the opportunity to prepare an appropriate defense in the expedited trial. According to the spokesperson for the judiciary, it took only 43 days from the formation of the case against Vahid Malakoutian and Mohammad Ismail Qasemi until their death sentence was confirmed. Iranian officials claim that Malakoutian traded over two tons of coins. However, there are no restrictions in Iranian law regarding the amount of coin and currency trading. The Central Bank and the government of Hassan Rouhani, as well as the judiciary, had not announced any restrictions on coin trading. Philip Luther further states in this statement: 'The use of the death penalty under any circumstances is horrific, but given that these two were convicted in a clearly unfair trial that was broadcast on state television, it is even more terrifying.' At the same time, the International Human Rights Campaign in Iran has also accused the Iranian judiciary of violating numerous international laws and domestic laws regarding the rights of defendants to a fair trial in recent trials of those accused of economic corruption. This campaign has called on Iranian officials to immediately annul all death sentences and other rulings issued by these courts. According to this campaign, death sentences have also been issued for three other individuals in this context: Hamid Bagheri, Daryush Ebrahimian Bilandi, and Younes Bahaldini, who are accused of 'organized disruption of the banking and economic system of the country'. The International Human Rights Campaign in Iran has also urged the United Nations and its member states to 'directly address the violations of rights by these courts with Iranian officials' and to 'demand the immediate cessation of these courts and the immediate annulment of the death sentences issued, along with a request for a review of all issued sentences.' The execution of the 'Coin Sultan' and his accomplice has also sparked significant reactions on social media. Many users viewed these executions as a cover-up for widespread corruption in which, according to them, government officials are involved. A user named Balthazar on Twitter described the execution of these two as the execution of an 'old scenario' of the Islamic Republic, writing: 'Who sold two tons of coins to this Sultan? The regime's scenario, like the three thousand billion embezzlement, was resolved by executing the main issue.' Previously, the spokesperson for the judiciary had stated that Vahid Malakoutian was also arrested in 2012 and was acquitted after explanations from the Central Bank, indicating his close cooperation with the Central Bank. Another user named Ali Alamdar wrote: 'What should be prioritized today is dealing with the instigators of corruption, not with the tools of the instigators.' Finally, a user named Vahid Monjazi wrote: 'Now that you have executed the Sultan, has the coin situation returned to its previous state!?'