Reza Rasayi, accused in the case of killing a Revolutionary Guard official, executed

The Judiciary News Agency reports that Reza Rasayi, who was accused of killing the head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence in the city of Sahneh, has been executed. According to the 'Mizan' news agency, the execution order for Gholamreza Rasayi, referred to as 'Qisas' (retribution), was carried out on Tuesday, August 7, in the central prison of Kermanshah. Reza (Gholamreza) Rasayi, 34 years old and a follower of the Yarsan faith, was sentenced to death by the second branch of the Kermanshah Criminal Court for 'participation in the murder of Nader Birami, head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence in Sahneh,' and this sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court last December. A one-year prison sentence and 74 lashes were other sentences against Mr. Rasayi. The head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence in Sahneh was killed on November 18, 2022, during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of Khalil Alinajad (a former leader of the Yarsan community) in Sahneh, which turned violent. 'Participation in causing non-lethal intentional injuries not resulting in death, displaying and demonstrating power with a knife, and disturbing public order through creating uproar and chaos' were other charges against Mr. Rasayi. Reports indicate that the first branch of the Supreme Court deemed the request for retrial by Mr. Rasayi's lawyers as 'lacking legal conditions' without considering all the existing flaws and ambiguities in the case. Some lawyers and human rights activists have pointed out multiple legal ambiguities in Reza Rasayi's case, including 'relying on forced confessions of the defendants against each other,' 'deliberately ignoring the testimony of several defendants in favor of Reza Rasayi,' and 'disregarding the opinion of forensic experts.' A former cellmate of Reza Rasayi told Radio Farda that Mr. Rasayi claimed he was forced to confess to the murder of Nader Birami under torture. According to him, Reza Rasayi told his cellmates that he had no role in this murder but was compelled to give a false confession, and based on this confession, the death sentence was issued against him. Reza Rasayi was arrested on November 24, 2022, about a month after the incident, in Shahriar and transferred to the Dizelabad prison in Kermanshah. Amnesty International expressed concern about the execution of Mr. Rasayi on January 3 of last year and called for a halt to its implementation. The organization linked the mentioned death sentence to the nationwide protests of 'Women, Life, Freedom.'