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Iran: Justice denied to man who died after flogging
Feature, 27/02/2004
The heart attack that killed Mohsen Mofidi on 22 February 2004 may not have been brought on by the flogging that he received around four days earlier. But the 80 lashes of leather cords, each over a centimetre thick and one metre long, could not have helped. His unnecessary death begs the question: why did he have to die and for what?
Thirty-five-year-old Mohsen and two of his sisters -- Mahdis, then 19 and Nika, 17 -- were arrested at their home in Tehran in July 2003. Officials had noticed the illegal satellite dish on the house and the numbers of visitors to their apartment and made enquiries. They arrested the three siblings -- the sisters later said that were beaten with wooden sticks and chains while in detention.
Following investigations, Mohsen was charged with possessing the illegal satellite dish, alcohol -- albeit contained in medicine -- and with fostering the corruption of his younger sisters. The young women reportedly admitted under interrogation to adultery and having "non-legitimate relations" (ravabet-e na-mashou'), or boyfriends. The judge sentenced the young women, one of them still a minor at the time, to 130 lashes in August 2003.
Mohsen Mofidi received four months' imprisonment, 80 lashes and a cash fine, which he faced for possession of the satellite dish. The original sentences were upheld following an appeal heard in late 2003, but, by the time the sentences were due to be carried out in January 2004, the sisters had fled to Canada. They had succeeded in delaying the proceedings by saying that they were menstruating, this exempted them from the flogging and gave them more time to ensure their departure. However, their brother Mohsen went into Qasr Prison.
The authorities in Iran have the duty to apply the law as it is therefore to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences. But adultery, "non-legitimate relations" and fostering corruption are not recognized as criminal offences under international law. Was the health and safety of the young Mofidi sisters and the life of Mohsen Mofidi worth any less than such standards, standards like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a state party?
The family was, however, also let down by flaws in the administration of justice. The family, it seems, was not aware of their right to employ a lawyer for the General Court hearing (Dadgah-e 'Omomi). They hurriedly hired one just days before the trial, yet he turned out to be a trickster and fraud who was arrested shortly after the end of proceedings. There are also reports that Mohsen was denied access to a lawyer, let alone a lawyer of his choice, at the appeal stage, despite repeated requests.
Mohsen Mofidi had served only several weeks of his four-month custodial sentence when, on 11 February, he benefited from a general amnesty that the Supreme Leader of Iran grants every year on the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic. He was to be released, but was still required to face the 80 lashes to which he was also sentenced.
Over the course of his incarceration in Qasr Prison, he had developed an acute lung and sinus infection that required him to remain in the prison's medical facility, drifting in and out of consciousness. Despite reports that he had not yet fully recovered from this infection, he was deemed well enough by the authorities to face the 80 lashes, which he received on 18 February, prior to his departure to a relative's house in another part of the city.
His condition deteriorated when he arrived at the house. He was seen by a doctor in connection with the lung infection -- for which he was proscribed antibiotics -- but, according to the death certificate, Mohsen Mofidi, a 35-year-old man with no known record of a previous heart condition, died of a heart attack. His sisters, now in Canada, were distraught at the news of his death; one told Amnesty International, "Now that he is gone, nothing matters."
The decision to carry out the flogging may well have contributed to this unnecessary death. Judicial corporal punishments are cruel, inhuman and degrading forms of punishment that amount to torture. They are unlawful because they entail key elements of torture or ill-treatment, including the deliberate infliction of severe pain and suffering as a punishment. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "must extend to corporal punishment".
It is also possible that the flogging Mohsen Mofidi faced did not contribute to his death. But he still need not have died without the justice in whose name the Islamic Republic of Iran was founded; without the dignity to which every Iranian citizen is entitled. He was the victim of the laws of his country and of a justice system that left him with a flawed defence. Finally, he was failed by those who deemed him fit enough to face 80 lashes on 18 February. The unnecessary death of Mohsen Mofidi tells us that Iran's criminal justice system is failing its citizens; failing to uphold the rule of law and to protect fundamental freedoms.
A broad-based review of laws, the practice of the administration of justice, sentencing and the manner of implementation of punishments is essential for Iran's judicial system to gain the credibility it is lacking in Iranian society. Such a review can only be initiated by the Office of the Supreme Leader.
The international community, which is on the verge of examining Iran's performance in defending human rights at the annual Commission on Human Rights, must take action at developments such as this, along with other flagrant violations of human rights.
As it stands, Mohsen Mofidi appears to have died for nothing.
To take action in relation to the case of Mohsen Mofidi, please go to: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE130132004
Iran: Justice denied to man who died after flogging
Feature, 27/02/2004
The heart attack that killed Mohsen Mofidi on 22 February 2004 may not have been brought on by the flogging that he received around four days earlier. But the 80 lashes of leather cords, each over a centimetre thick and one metre long, could not have helped. His unnecessary death begs the question: why did he have to die and for what?
Thirty-five-year-old Mohsen and two of his sisters -- Mahdis, then 19 and Nika, 17 -- were arrested at their home in Tehran in July 2003. Officials had noticed the illegal satellite dish on the house and the numbers of visitors to their apartment and made enquiries. They arrested the three siblings -- the sisters later said that were beaten with wooden sticks and chains while in detention.
Following investigations, Mohsen was charged with possessing the illegal satellite dish, alcohol -- albeit contained in medicine -- and with fostering the corruption of his younger sisters. The young women reportedly admitted under interrogation to adultery and having "non-legitimate relations" (ravabet-e na-mashou'), or boyfriends. The judge sentenced the young women, one of them still a minor at the time, to 130 lashes in August 2003.
Mohsen Mofidi received four months' imprisonment, 80 lashes and a cash fine, which he faced for possession of the satellite dish. The original sentences were upheld following an appeal heard in late 2003, but, by the time the sentences were due to be carried out in January 2004, the sisters had fled to Canada. They had succeeded in delaying the proceedings by saying that they were menstruating, this exempted them from the flogging and gave them more time to ensure their departure. However, their brother Mohsen went into Qasr Prison.
The authorities in Iran have the duty to apply the law as it is therefore to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences. But adultery, "non-legitimate relations" and fostering corruption are not recognized as criminal offences under international law. Was the health and safety of the young Mofidi sisters and the life of Mohsen Mofidi worth any less than such standards, standards like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a state party?
The family was, however, also let down by flaws in the administration of justice. The family, it seems, was not aware of their right to employ a lawyer for the General Court hearing (Dadgah-e 'Omomi). They hurriedly hired one just days before the trial, yet he turned out to be a trickster and fraud who was arrested shortly after the end of proceedings. There are also reports that Mohsen was denied access to a lawyer, let alone a lawyer of his choice, at the appeal stage, despite repeated requests.
Mohsen Mofidi had served only several weeks of his four-month custodial sentence when, on 11 February, he benefited from a general amnesty that the Supreme Leader of Iran grants every year on the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic. He was to be released, but was still required to face the 80 lashes to which he was also sentenced.
Over the course of his incarceration in Qasr Prison, he had developed an acute lung and sinus infection that required him to remain in the prison's medical facility, drifting in and out of consciousness. Despite reports that he had not yet fully recovered from this infection, he was deemed well enough by the authorities to face the 80 lashes, which he received on 18 February, prior to his departure to a relative's house in another part of the city.
His condition deteriorated when he arrived at the house. He was seen by a doctor in connection with the lung infection -- for which he was proscribed antibiotics -- but, according to the death certificate, Mohsen Mofidi, a 35-year-old man with no known record of a previous heart condition, died of a heart attack. His sisters, now in Canada, were distraught at the news of his death; one told Amnesty International, "Now that he is gone, nothing matters."
The decision to carry out the flogging may well have contributed to this unnecessary death. Judicial corporal punishments are cruel, inhuman and degrading forms of punishment that amount to torture. They are unlawful because they entail key elements of torture or ill-treatment, including the deliberate infliction of severe pain and suffering as a punishment. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "must extend to corporal punishment".
It is also possible that the flogging Mohsen Mofidi faced did not contribute to his death. But he still need not have died without the justice in whose name the Islamic Republic of Iran was founded; without the dignity to which every Iranian citizen is entitled. He was the victim of the laws of his country and of a justice system that left him with a flawed defence. Finally, he was failed by those who deemed him fit enough to face 80 lashes on 18 February. The unnecessary death of Mohsen Mofidi tells us that Iran's criminal justice system is failing its citizens; failing to uphold the rule of law and to protect fundamental freedoms.
A broad-based review of laws, the practice of the administration of justice, sentencing and the manner of implementation of punishments is essential for Iran's judicial system to gain the credibility it is lacking in Iranian society. Such a review can only be initiated by the Office of the Supreme Leader.
The international community, which is on the verge of examining Iran's performance in defending human rights at the annual Commission on Human Rights, must take action at developments such as this, along with other flagrant violations of human rights.
As it stands, Mohsen Mofidi appears to have died for nothing.
To take action in relation to the case of Mohsen Mofidi, please go to: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE130132004
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