Trial of the Accused in the Murder Case of Mehrjouyi and Mohammadi-Far Begins Without the Presence of Victims' Relatives

News sources in Iran reported today, Wednesday, January 17, that the trial of the accused in the murder case of Dariush Mehrjouyi and Vahideh Mohammadi-Far is taking place in the Criminal Court of Alborz Province "without the presence of the victims' relatives." According to the website "Khabar Online," the trial of the four accused, which has been accompanied by numerous controversies, was held without any of the victims' "relatives" present, and their lawyer attended the court. Although it was announced that this session is public, reports indicate that journalists were prevented from attending. Judicial officials of the Islamic Republic have claimed that among these four accused, one is the main suspect and the other three have assisted him. It was previously claimed that the accused in the murder case of Dariush Mehrjouyi and Vahideh Mohammadi-Far are Afghan nationals and are underage. According to the judiciary's claims, two of the accused do not have identification documents and medical tests have shown that they have not yet reached the "legal age." Reports indicate that the indictment issued against the accused is 12 pages long. According to published news, in this court session, the prosecutor's representative first read the indictment and stated, "The crime of all four accused in this case is established." As the victims' relatives did not attend the court, their lawyer took the stand and requested "retribution" for all the accused. Reports indicate that the victims' lawyer pointed out many deficiencies in the case and called for further investigation and rectification of these deficiencies, but the prosecutor's representative responded that "investigations have been conducted and all these deficiencies have been resolved." Previously, Mona Mehrjouyi's lawyer expressed surprise at the "issuance of the indictment" for the accused in the murder of Dariush Mehrjouyi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadi-Far, and reported an objection to the "forensic medical opinion." Manouchehr Manouchehri, Mona's lawyer, told the newspaper "Etemad" on Monday, December 11, that "we learned about the issuance of the indictment through the media, while investigations in the prosecutor's office were still ongoing." He pointed out that there are "ambiguities in the case" and that they had requested "investigations in certain matters" which made the issuance of the indictment "seem impossible until the investigations are completed" and the objection to the forensic medical opinion is reviewed. Manouchehri also mentioned regarding the handling of this case that "given that the last forensic medical opinion also faced ambiguities, the indictment was issued with hypothetical claims and in an uncertain manner." According to the lawyer in this case, "their objection to the forensic medical opinion and the request for further investigations through two motions and even the objections of the defendants' appointed lawyers to the last forensic medical opinion have not yet been addressed." The Iranian Writers' Association on October 16 referred to the "brutal murder" of Dariush Mehrjouyi, a well-known filmmaker, and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadi-Far, stating that "the government is evading accountability for the ambiguities and explaining what happened to them." In the early hours of Sunday, October 15, 2023, some Telegram channels and then official media and news websites reported the murder of Dariush Mehrjouyi, a prominent filmmaker, and his wife Vahideh Mohammadi-Far in their private home (located in the city of Fardis, Alborz Province) by "unknown individuals." The media center of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic reported on December 9, quoting Hossein Fazeli Heirandi, the head of the judiciary of Alborz Province, about the issuance of an indictment for four accused in the case and its referral "for consideration" to the Criminal Court 1 of Alborz Province. "Eskandar, Davood, Mirowis, and Karim" are the four accused who are claimed to have been involved in the murder of this director and his wife, citing motives of "hostility, financial demands, and theft." Since the news of the murder of Mehrjouyi and his wife was published until the introduction of the accused, many contradictions were observed in the news. Many social media users likened it to "serial killings," a comparison that faced significant reactions among government media, and the press organ of the Islamic Republic criticized such a comparison. Mona Mehrjouyi, the daughter of Dariush Mehrjouyi and Vahideh Mohammadi-Far, who participated in her parents' funeral on October 18 without the mandatory hijab required by the Islamic Republic, stated in part of her speech: "As my father said, the killers are really among us." A commemoration of the late Iranian director included the screening of the documentary "Dariush Mehrjouyi - Making the Cow Film" by Bahman Maqsoudlou.