Lawyer of Mohammad Qabadelu: His Retribution Was Unjust and Led to the Slaughter of Law and Sharia

The lawyer of Mohammad Qabadelu, the executed protester, pointed out numerous flaws and doubts in her client's case, calling his retribution "unjust" and leading to the "slaughter of law and Sharia" and the "discrediting of the judiciary." Mahdokht Damghanpour, one of Qabadelu's lawyers, in an interview with the website "Iran Watchdog," referred to her client's deprivation of a final meeting with his family and the lies of prison officials on the day of this political defendant's execution, stating that he was executed in the "most secretive manner possible." Mohammad Qabadelu, a 24-year-old protester with bipolar disorder, was executed on January 23 without a final meeting with his family for allegedly killing a police officer named Farid Kermpour Hasanvand. Damghanpour mentioned that one of the flaws in this case was the judicial authorities' disregard for the bipolar disorder of this protester and the lack of access to documents regarding how the police officer was killed. This lawyer pointed out that the forensic examination overlooked "fundamental flaws" in the legal medical assessments, stating that forensic medicine declared Qabadelu to be mentally sound and capable of discernment based on a superficial examination and without knowledge of his mental health history. Meanwhile, Mahdokht Damghanpour emphasized that Qabadelu had suffered from bipolar disorder since adolescence and had stopped taking his medications before the incident and during his confessions. Qabadelu's lawyer also stated that despite the presence of surveillance cameras near the location of the vehicle collision with police officers, the lawyers were told that "the area lacks cameras," and there was no report on the admission and treatment of the deceased officer in the case file. According to Mahdokht Damghanpour, the only witnesses in this case were police officers. She also referred to the conversion of Qabadelu's security case to a "super security" case and the cutting off of lawyers' access to this young protester's file, considering "the extent of secrecy in handling this case" to be astonishing. Mahdokht Damghanpour and Amir Raisian were the lawyers chosen by Mohammad Qabadelu's family. The simultaneous execution of Mohammad Qabadelu and Farhad Salimi, two political prisoners, faced a wave of anger and protests from activists and human rights, civil, and political organizations inside and outside Iran. Among them, 61 political and ideological prisoners in the women's section of Evin Prison announced that in protest against the recent executions and to "stop executions," they would go on a general hunger strike on January 25. Amnesty International also described the execution of Mohammad Qabadelu and Farhad Salimi by the Iranian authorities as a "terrifying descent" into a "new realm of oppression." On the other hand, Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern over the sharp increase in the use of the death penalty in Iran, including the execution of these two political defendants. Hengaw: 74 prisoners were executed in Iran in one month. Reconfirmation of death sentences for several protesters; two experts told Voice of America: aimed at "intimidating" society. Protests against executions dubbed "Black Tuesdays"; ten political prisoners are on hunger strike. Action against executions; female political prisoners in Evin joined the hunger strike of ten prisoners in Qezel Hesar.