Lawyer of the 'Ekbatan Children' Case to VOA: Inadequate Investigations Have Been Conducted

Reza Shafakhah, one of the lawyers of the defendants in the case known as the 'Ekbatan Children', emphasized in an interview with VOA that in none of these cases has 'adequate and appropriate investigations into the murder' been conducted. Mr. Shafakhah, who is involved in the case of many of the victims from the years 2022 and 2019, referred to the case of Mohammad Reza Eskandari as an example. According to Mr. Shafakhah, although Mohammad Reza Eskandari was shot in broad daylight in Pakdasht and under surveillance cameras, there is no evidence of any assailant. He also mentioned the case of Abolfazl Amirataei, a 16-year-old teenager in the city of Rey, stating that he was struck on the head with a tear gas launcher and died after three months, yet 'there is no trace of any assailant or any culprit in the case.' Meanwhile, in the murder case of Arman Ali-Vardi, from the very beginning, a special committee consisting of representatives from intelligence-security agencies was dedicated to this issue, putting all their efforts and energy into pursuing this case. He adds that according to the judges and lawyers, none of the criminal actions in this case can be specifically attributed to those named in it, and it cannot be said which of the defendants inflicted which blow to which part of the victim's body and what the punishment for that is. Mr. Shafakhah stated that this is why the judge and two advisors of Branch 13 of the Tehran Criminal Court reached the definitive conclusion that this murder falls under Article 479 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states that if a person is killed in a crowd and the killer is not identified, the blood money must be paid from public funds. However, due to pressures exerted and interviews conducted on the Islamic Republic's television, and with 'the influence of politicians', the opinions of two of the advisors of Branch 13 were changed to place the judge in the minority, resulting in 'these children who are truly innocent in the murder of Mr. Ali-Vardi being sentenced to qisas (retribution).' He emphasizes that these children may have inflicted blows on Mr. Ali-Vardi, but 'none of these actions were actions leading to murder,' and despite the worst interrogation conditions and without access to a lawyer, they have never accepted that 'I struck Arman Ali-Vardi on the head to kill him.' The head of Branch 13, Mr. Asghar Khalili, states that the defendants' statements in the early stages were completely under pressure and torture and are not credible, and 'confessions and testimonies are only valid before the ruler and in court and in the criminal court, not before the investigator and prosecutor in the court.' Reza Shafakhah also points to another danger threatening the Ekbatan children, aside from the outcome of the appeal, which is the court session in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Mr. Salavati regarding the issue of moharebeh (waging war against God), which unfortunately is influenced by the ruling issued by Branch 13. He explains that based on a legal principle 'a material act can only correspond to one criminal title,' meaning one cannot simultaneously commit 'murder,' 'moharebeh,' 'propaganda against the regime,' and 'gathering and conspiracy' with one act. However, in this case, single actions have been attributed to multiple instances and each is being addressed in a different court; for example, security charges like gathering and conspiracy in the Revolutionary Court and criminal charges in the Tehran Criminal Court. He also reminds that in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, citing that parts of the case are confidential, lawyers were not allowed to study the entire case file, which he says is unusual because although in security crimes and during investigations in the prosecutor's office, free lawyers may not be allowed to attend, such restrictions do not exist at the trial stage, and the lawyer has unconditional access to the case file for the defense of their client. According to him, this limitation caused lawyers to remain unaware of deficiencies in the investigations in the case. The Branch 13 of the Tehran Criminal Court has sentenced Milad Armon, Alireza Kafayi, Amir Mohammad Khoshghab, Navid Najaran, Hossein Naimati, and Alireza Barmarzpournak, six of the detained protesters in the case known as the 'Ekbatan Children', to death in connection with the killing of a Basij member named Arman Ali-Vardi.