Death Sentence for the Accused in the Murder of Atena Aslani to be Carried Out Publicly

The head of the judiciary in Ardabil has announced the issuance of a sentence for the accused in the murder of Atena Aslani, condemning him to "public execution" and "retribution of life." According to the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, Mohammad Ali Qasemi stated that the accused was sentenced to "retribution of life" for premeditated murder, "execution" for rape, and "imprisonment, flogging, and restitution" for theft. Meanwhile, Mohsen Afshari, the court-appointed lawyer for the accused, told the Ana news agency that "the medical commission's opinion regarding the rape has not been definitively stated." The only trial session for the accused in the murder of Atena Aslani, a seven-year-old girl from Parsabad, was held privately on Saturday morning, September 4, in the first criminal court of Ardabil province. Mr. Afshari emphasized that as a "court-appointed lawyer," he was tasked with defending the accused, stating that "the accused denies all charges" and "has been under various pressures, which is why he has made contradictory statements." According to the accused's lawyer, "the verdict will be issued based on the opinions of the judicial panel and according to their knowledge and the evidence and documents available in the case." Under the laws of the Islamic Republic, if a judge does not have access to admissible evidence and reasons, he can issue a verdict based on his "knowledge." The head of the Ardabil judiciary also announced that "the punishment will be carried out publicly" and stated, "After the process of notification and handling of the case in the Supreme Court is completed, the necessary actions for execution will be taken." Atena Aslani was murdered after being raped last June, and her body was found 20 days later in the parking lot of the suspect's shop. However, the suspect in the murder denied his previous confessions regarding the murder and "rape" in an interview with the Tasnim news agency. Previously, Nasser Atabati, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Ardabil province, announced that this court session was held privately due to "certain issues," but did not refer to the details of these reasons and did not provide further explanations about the court session. Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary, had ordered that this case be pursued urgently.