Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Naser Zolqadr

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Presumed Muslim
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: July 3, 1980
Location of Killing: Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Unspecified execution method
Charges: Collaborating with the political police SAVAK

About this Case

The execution of Mr. Naser Zolqadr and 15 others was reported by the correspondents of the Jomhuri Eslami and Kayhan dailies in Shiraz (July 5, 1980).

According to the Shiraz correspondent of the Enqelab Eslami daily of the same date, the religious judge who had attended the Friday Sermon in Shiraz spoke before performing the prayer while announcing the news:

“As I was busy examining the cases of drug dealers, the President asked me in a telephone conversation to examine the cases of first rate criminals with political charges and issue the verdict based on the Shari’a law. I requested that the Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor of Shiraz give us what they have at the Revolutionary Tribunal. Unfortunately, these cases were not passed on to us, and therefore I sentenced five people to death based on what was available at the prison or the Islamic Revolutionary Guards headquarters, and considering the testimonies of witnesses and unbiased individuals. One or two of these five people were already tried at the court and sentenced to life imprisonment, but I sentenced them to death, considering the crimes they had committed; and I did not think it was even that necessary to examine their cases, anyway. The death sentence was carried out today at dawn, and this was my Islamic and human duty and I have done my job in accordance with Shari’a standards.”

The report of the Friday Sermon speech points to the fact that these executions caused disagreement among the clerics. In response to his critic, the religious judge said: “The gentleman who has been silent so far and has not shown the slightest reaction to the blood of our martyrs, has telephoned certain people last night, telling them that I have acted illegally. It must be said to him that it is none of his business. It would only be fair if I performed my duty to defrock this pseudo-cleric so that other pseudo-clerics do not dare present themselves against the Islamic nature of Iran.”

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of this individual’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

Based on the Jomhuri Eslami report, the religious judge traveled to Shiraz and, after visiting the Revolutionary Guard (Pasdaran) headquarters of Shiraz, headed for the Shiraz Tribunal, where he examined the cases of sixteen individuals charged with a range of crimes from killing and suppression of revolutionary combatants to drug dealing and sodomy. Mr. Zolqadr, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment by the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Shiraz, was one of the defendants re-tired at this special court by the religious judge.

Charges

The Jomhuri Eslami report specified the defendant’s charges as “being a torturer and the key person in arresting Ayatollah Dastgheyb and Ayatollah Mahallati’s in 1964.” However, the Kayhan report mentioned “arresting the combatant youth, torturing them, and so forth.”

Evidence of guilt

The reports contain no information regarding the evidence presented against the defendant at the trial.

Defense

No information is available on the defendant’s defense.

Judgment

Based on the Kayhan report, the defendant, previously sentenced to life imprisonment by the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Shiraz, was declared a “corruptor on earth” and sentenced to death at this special tribunal headed by the religious judge. The sentence was carried out immediately. The Jomhuri Eslami report specifies that the sentence included confiscation of property for six of the accused. It is not clear whether or not Mr. Zolqadr’s properties were confiscated.

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