Dadbaan Reports Arrest of a New Suspect in the 'Ekbatān Town' Case

The Dadbaan legal advisory center announced on Tuesday, June 9, that a person named Navid Najaran was arrested in Ahvaz and transferred to Tehran in the case known as 'Ekbatān Town.' According to this center, a 'special judicial agent' arrested Navid Najaran on charges of 'committing criminal acts related to the death of Arman Ali-Vardi, a Basij member killed in Ekbatān, Tehran.' Like many of those arrested during nationwide protests, the Dadbaan website emphasized that Navid Najaran has been deprived of access to a defense attorney. Arman Ali-Vardi, a member of the Basij security forces, was injured during the crackdown on protests on November 4 of last year and died two days later in the hospital. Following the death of this Basij member, the security forces of the Islamic Republic carried out widespread arrests in Ekbatān Town, Tehran. Masoud Setayesh, the spokesperson for the judiciary, announced about a month ago that the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued indictments for eight suspects in the Ekbatān Town case, seven of whom are in custody and one is free. It is unclear whether the spokesperson's reference to one suspect being 'free' pertains to Navid Najaran being under pursuit. The three main suspects in this case, Milad Armoon, Mohammad-Mehdi Hosseini, and Mehdi Imani, have been charged with 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) using cold weapons and are at risk of receiving the death penalty. Meanwhile, according to Dadbaan, Milad Armoon, the first suspect, has denied this charge and explicitly stated that he has never possessed any weapons, whether cold or hot. In a video released by Islamic Republic media, Milad Armoon confronted Tehran's police chief, Hossein Rahimi, asserting that he has never held a knife and firmly rejected Rahimi's insistence that he had a knife and attacked the deceased Basij member. Other suspects in this case, including Alireza Kafayi, Amir-Mohammad Khosh-Eqbal, Alireza Barmaz Poornak, and Hossein Nemati, have been accused of 'participating in premeditated murder' and 'disturbing public order and tranquility.' According to Dadbaan, Payam Darfashan, the lawyer for Hossein Nemati, reported numerous 'deficiencies' in this case, including 'the presence of multiple agents and consequently multiple suspects.' According to this lawyer, the case has been returned to the prosecutor's office for corrections, and with the entry of new suspects, there is a possibility of changes to the indictment and the attributed charges. Reports indicate that the suspects have been coerced by security agents into making forced confessions against themselves and testifying against each other. The three main suspects in the 'Ekbatān Town' case are facing the death penalty while the number of executions in Iran has significantly increased in recent months. Human rights activists have widely criticized this situation and issued warnings, calling for a global response to halt the death penalty in Iran. Mohammad Oliaei-Fard explains the reason for sending a letter from six Iranian lawyers to Guterres regarding executions in Iran, requesting the release of political prisoners and halting the sentences of prisoners sentenced to death during a protest by Iranians in Sweden. Protesters in Ekbatān chanted: 'This year is the year of blood, Sadr Ali will be toppled'; May 29. 'Death to Khamenei the murderer'; chants in Ekbatān after the execution of Saeed Yaghoubi, Majid Kazemi, and Saleh Mirhashimi. The letter from six Iranian lawyers to Guterres requests that the death penalty be 'abolished or limited.' Reactions to the destruction of street cafes; confronting subcultures and 'revenge' against the protests in Ekbatān.