Dadbaan Site: One of the Defendants in the 'Ekbatan Town' Case Was Not Present During the Beating of the Deceased Basij Member

The Dadbaan Legal Consultation Center reported, citing an informed source, that Alireza Barmerz Pournak, one of the defendants in the 'Ekbatan Town' case, was not present in the images related to the beating of the deceased Basij member. In a report on Wednesday, July 7, it was stated that despite this defendant's presence in the film chasing Arman Ali-Vardi, the deceased Basij member, 'Alireza is not present in the images related to the beating' of this Basij member. Arman Ali-Vardi, a member of the Basij security unit, was injured during the suppression of protests on November 4 last year and died two days later in the hospital. According to Dadbaan, Alireza Barmerz Pournak, 26 years old, was 'severely tortured by judicial agents' during detention and forced to make a coerced confession. The charges and indictment against Alireza Barmerz Pournak were based on this coerced confession. Previously, Masoud Setayesh, the spokesperson for the judiciary, announced that the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued an indictment for eight defendants in the 'Ekbatan Town' case. The Dadbaan Legal Center identified the agency detaining Alireza Barmerz Pournak as the Intelligence Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and added that he is currently facing charges such as 'participation in intentional murder,' 'participation in intentional assault,' and 'disturbing public order.' This center had previously reported on the pressure from security agents on the defendants in the 'Ekbatan Town' case, forcing them to make coerced confessions against themselves and testify against each other. The three main defendants in this case, Milad Armon, Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini, and Mehdi Imani, have been accused of 'waging war with cold weapons' and are at risk of receiving the death penalty. Meanwhile, according to Dadbaan, Milad Armon, the first defendant, has denied this accusation and explicitly stated that he has never held any weapons, whether cold or hot. In this case, defendants including Alireza Kafayi, Amir Mohammad Khoshghab, Alireza Barmerz Pournak, and Hossein Naimati have been accused of 'participation in intentional murder' and 'disturbing public order and tranquility.' Meanwhile, according to Dadbaan, Payam Darvishan, the lawyer for Hossein Naimati, reported numerous 'deficiencies' in this case, including the 'presence of multiple agents and consequently multiple defendants.' Dadbaan, citing an informed source, reported that the defendants in the 'Ekbatan Town' case are expected to be transferred to Ghezal Hesar prison soon. The three main defendants in the 'Ekbatan Town' case are at risk of receiving the death penalty, while the number of executions in Iran has significantly increased in recent months. Human rights activists have widely criticized this and issued warnings, calling for a global response to stop the death penalty in Iran. A report by Fereshteh Rastgar on the manner of the killing of Basij cleric Arman Ali-Vardi and the defendants accused of his murder, along with a letter from six Iranian lawyers to Guterres: the death penalty should be 'abolished or limited.' Reactions to the destruction of street cafes; combating subcultures and 'revenge' for the Ekbatan protests. The Dadbaan site reported the arrest of a new defendant in the 'Ekbatan Town' case.