Six Defendants in the 'Ekbatana Case' Sentenced to Death

Babak Paknia, a lawyer, states that Branch 13 of the Tehran Criminal Court has sentenced six defendants in the 'Ekbatana Case' to death. Paknia, who represents some of these defendants, wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, November 23, that this branch has sentenced Milad Armon, Alireza Kafayi, Amir Mohammad Khushqbal, Navid Najaran, Hossein Naimati, and Alireza Barmarzpournak to 'qisas nafs' (retribution in kind). He added that the head of the branch opposed this ruling and issued a minority opinion, and that this ruling is subject to appeal. During the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests in November 2022, a Basij force named Arman Ali-Vardi was killed in the Ekbatana neighborhood in northwest Tehran, following which security forces arrested 50 young residents of this neighborhood. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic subsequently issued indictments for 14 individuals in this case, among whom four were charged with 'moharebeh' (waging war against God). Other charges in this case include 'participation in intentional murder' and 'disturbance of public order and tranquility.' The cases of Milad Armon, Mohammad Mahdi Hosseini, Mehdi Imani, and Navid Najaran were sent to Branch 13 of the Tehran Criminal Court after deficiencies were rectified in September of this year, while another part was sent to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran presided over by Abolqasem Salavati. Payam Darfashan, the lawyer for Hossein Naimati, reported on November 13 that after the last court session, the bail for his client and three other defendants in this case—Alireza Barmarzpournak, Alireza Kafayi, and Amir Mohammad Khushqbal—unexpectedly turned into a detention order. Many civil and political activists had previously warned about the possibility of death sentences being issued against the defendants in this case. Human rights organizations had reported torture and mistreatment of the defendants in this case. The Islamic Republic has executed nine individuals named Mohammad Mahdi Karami, Mohammad Qabadelu, Mohsen Shekari, Majid Rehnavard, Mohammad Hosseini, Saleh Mirhashimi, Saeed Yaqoubi, Majid Kazemi, and Milad Zohrevand in connection with the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. Meanwhile, the lawyers of these protesters and political and human rights activists claim that the cases of these protesters are fraught with contradictions and that their basic rights were not respected at various stages of the proceedings.