Security Agency 'Fars' Reports Re-examination of 'Mehran Samak' Case

After the lawyer for the family of Mehran Samak, the deceased protester in Bandar Anzali, announced that a military court in Qazvin has once again sentenced the accused in this case to qisas (retribution) for 'premeditated murder,' a news confirmed by the judiciary, the security news agency 'Fars' has reported on the re-examination of the Mehran Samak case. The agency stated that through 'continuous follow-ups' by Fars reporters, it has been revealed that the death sentence for Jafar Javanmardi, the police commander of Bandar Anzali, is not final and due to 'multiple deficiencies,' the case will be reviewed again. Fars reported that officials from the judiciary assured that the issued sentence is currently not executable and that more comprehensive investigations need to be conducted upon completion of the case. Majid Ahmadi, the lawyer for the Samak family, emphasized on Wednesday, April 8, in an interview with 'Shargh Network,' affiliated with Shargh newspaper, that this is the third time a qisas punishment has been issued for the accused in the murder of Mehran Samak. Last year, following the issuance of a qisas sentence by a military court in Gilan for the accused in this case, the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported the annulment of this sentence by Branch 26 of the Supreme Court and the referral of the case for re-examination to an equivalent branch. Jafar Javanmardi, the former police commander of Bandar Anzali, has been identified as the accused in this case. He was dismissed and arrested for allegedly shooting the pellets that led to the death of Mehran Samak. Hamid Samak, the father of this deceased protester, has repeatedly emphasized on his Instagram page, sharing images of his son's bloody body: 'I will not forgive for the blood of my son, Mehran.' In an Instagram post in summer 1402, he wrote that his son's face was targeted by '136 pellet shots' from a distance of three meters. Mehran Samak, a 26-year-old protester, was shot and killed on December 8, 1401, during the honking and celebration after the Islamic Republic football team's loss to the U.S. national team. This case is one of the few instances where the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic have tried an accused of killing a protester, and some analysts believe that ultimately this case will be closed without any practical action due to the involvement of security agencies and high-ranking officials. The efforts of the news agency affiliated with the security institutions of the Islamic Republic to create doubt and change in this ruling are also assessed in this context. The reaction of Mehran Samak's brother to the Iranian national football team's game: 'We are happy that we lost.' Users reacted to the Iranian football team's victory over Japan with the hashtag Mehran Samak. The large presence of people in Anzali on the anniversary of Mehran Samak, who was killed after the Iran-U.S. game, was noted. The slogan 'Freedom, Freedom' was chanted on the anniversary of the killing of Mehran Samak, one of the victims of the Anzali protests. A video of Mehran Samak's joy in Anzali after the Iran-U.S. match was released. The accused of killing Mehran Samak, a protester from Bandar Anzali, has been sentenced to qisas for the third time. The death sentence of the 'former police official' accused of killing Mehran Samak was annulled by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic.