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“I Want the Real Culprits to be Punished”

July 27, 2019
Shahed Alavi
12 min read
The mother of the murdered political prisoner Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali says she will only find peace if the people responsible for his death — prison officials among them — are put on trial
The mother of the murdered political prisoner Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali says she will only find peace if the people responsible for his death — prison officials among them — are put on trial

Two convicted criminals were tried for the murder of Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali, a 21-year-old political prisoner held in Tehran’s Fashafuyeh Prison, on Saturday, July 20. Three days later, on Tuesday, July 23, judicial authorities issued a verdict, handing down a sentence of qisas — or retribution in kind — to one of the defendants. 

Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali's mother, Mahnaz Sarabi, told IranWire that not only does she want the murderers to be punished, but she also demands the trial and punishment of the people really responsible for her son’s murder on June 10. In an earlier interview with IranWire, she said the real murderers were the “people who left the cell door open.” She added: “I want to know who did this. They left the door open in order for my son to get stabbed 30 times in his cell. This was definitely an intentional move, because you don’t see a prison door remaining open accidentally.”

After the verdict was issued, Sarabi said: “I demand the trial and the punishment of prison officials and guards. It was their failure that caused the death of my child and as long as this is not done I, the bereaved mother who has lost her only child, will not have peace.”

She has another demand, too, which she directed at Iran’s chief justice, Ebrahim Raeesi in a video, recorded by judiciary officials. Following Shia tradition, on the 40th day after the death of Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali, the family will hold a mourning ceremony. In the video, Sarabi warns Raeesi to leave them in peace during these ceremonies. “I said that if security agents again disrespect the guests on the 40th day ceremonies for my child, I will bare my head right there and then and start protesting,” she said. “I just want them to leave us alone. I have nothing more to lose. My only mission in life is to seek justice for the blood of my child.”

Mahnaz Sarabi talked to IranWire about the death of her son and how she feels justice should be carried out.

 

On Tuesday, July 23, three days after it was announced that the trial of the two persons accused of murdering your son had taken place, the verdict was issued. Have you yet seen the verdict?

I have yet to receive the verdict in written form but I saw it on the [judiciary’s] website. According to the verdict, Mohammad Reza Khalilzadeh, known as Mohammad Rashti, the first defendant, has been handed down the punishment of qisas [retribution in kind, meaning execution in this case] and the payment of blood money. Hamid Reza Shojaei, the second defendant, known as “Hamid the Rooster,” has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay blood money.

I had expected the death sentence against both. Then society would have to deal with two less thugs and the lives of more prisoners would be spared. When these thugs are returned to prison, they will kill another innocent soul and you will have another bereaved mother like me.

 

During the trial, did the killers say why they murdered Alireza?

They said they wanted to get out of Fashafuyeh and be transferred back to Rajaei Shahr Prison so that they could continue their scamming scheme. Apparently there, before they were transferred to Fashafuyeh, they used their phones to swindle people. They chose Alireza because he was the youngest and had lost a lot of weight because of his hunger strike. They believed that he was weakest of them all and easier to kill. Alireza was 72 kilos, but on April 10 when I last saw him in court, he weighed 45 kilos. They could not find anybody more vulnerable than my child.


In court, didn’t they ask the murderers about their wishes to return to Rajaei Shahr Prison and their plans to do this by committing murder?

The case of Alireza attracted a lot of attention so it was processed quickly and the verdict was issued fast. It appears that prisoners who are sentenced to death for murder or on drug charges commit other murders, hoping that the processing of the new murder case will take time and they can live longer. And they continue doing this.

 

Who are the lawyers for your case?

Mr. Mohammad Hadi Erfanian Kaseb, Mr. Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad and Ms. Orang — who have taken our case without any monetary expectations.

 

Are you happy with this verdict or do you intend to appeal through your lawyers?

I will appeal. I object against [the verdict] that Hamid Shojaei has not been sentenced to death. I want qisas for both of them. Who can say which one of the two struck the death blow that killed my son? They both took the life of my son. In addition, we also want those responsible at Fashafuyeh Prison, from the chief warden [on duty] at the time to the guard officer at that ward, tried and punished. I demand the trial and the punishment of all people responsible for my child’s murder, not only the killers. Stripping them of their uniforms and dismissing them does not do it for me.

I want Hedayat Farzadi, the chief warden [on duty] at the time, and the guard officers Moheb Imani, Reza Haghverdi, Mehdi Rashidi and Reza Haddadi to be put in the same cell as the murderers — with ordinary criminals — for one week, so that they can see what they have done to people’s children. I hope their families mourn them. God! If there is any justice, they should also mourn their loved ones the way I am mourning my only child.

 

What evidence do you have to consider that prison officials are responsible for the murder of your son?

When they slaughtered my son, the [CCTV] cameras were on and they could see what was happening on their monitors. Why didn’t they do anything? Why did Mr. Moheb Imani, the officer on duty, give the keys to the cells to an inmate and open the door to Alireza’s cell before locking the door to the murderers’ cell? Why did Mr. Mohebi, when he noticed the attack on Alireza, leave, instead of helping Alireza, and lock the door behind himself? Why, in those seven minutes when my son was losing blood, did the guards not come? After seven minutes Moheb Imani returned to the ward with the guards. Why so much delay?

Why was the prison alarm bell off for a whole week? Why was the prison phone cut off for two days? The murderers spent several days making knives out of ceramics. Why, when it was reported that they were making knives, were their cell not searched? Who is to answer for these endless whys?

 

Did your lawyers asked the court to summon these individuals as defendants?

During the defense, Mr. Behzadi-Rad said that we object to the indictment presented by the assistant prosecutor. He said the investigations were not complete and it was not clear why the agents who were present on the ward and the responsible individuals — from Chief Warden Hedayat Farzadi down to Moheb Imani, the officer on duty — had not been summoned to court.

Judge Babaei, who generally had a good disposition and to whom I am grateful, replied that, based on the indictment, the trial was only about the alleged murderers and the court could not go into other areas.

 

Have your lawyers filed any complaints with the court against these delinquent officials or, as you call them, the real culprits?

Yes, many times. I believe it was Mr. Behzadi-Rad who put together the complaint and filed it with the court. We also have an audio clip, which has been filed with the case. In this recording, Alireza tells me the names of two guard officers. In his diary, Alireza also notes that he had two nice guard officers but they had been reassigned and two other guards had replaced them.

 

Have you been able to talk with judiciary officials about your petition to put prison officials and guards on trial?

Yes. In the early days after Alireza was murdered, a group from the judiciary and the Society to Support Prisoners came to our home to offer their condolences. “Where were you during these 11 months [since Alireza was arrested] to hear about my suffering?” I told them. “Why now?” They filmed a video of me and told me to say whatever I wanted to Chief Justice Raeesi and said they would pass the video on to him.

I said, “Mr. Raeesi! Fashafuyeh is the bottom of the hell. Just imagine your own children are there in order to understand what we, the mothers, go through. I beseech you: either transfer political prisoners to Evin or separate them from ordinary prisoners. I must add that, right now, Soheil Arabi [an imprisoned photographer, blogger and civil activist] has been on a hunger strike for 38 days and his life is in danger. Don’t they want to do anything about it?”

I said that I wanted prison officials and agents to be put on trial only because it was through their failure that my child was murdered, and they are the real culprits. The head of the team, a gentleman by the name of Ahmadi, promised me he would pursue the issue.

 

You did not meet the men responsible for your son’s murder at the trial, and you have described your lawyers’ efforts to bring them to justice. Have you taken any other steps to try to make sure they are held accountable? 

After the trial I called Mr. Ahmadi, who had earlier visited our home as a representative of the judiciary to offer his condolences. I told him: “You made me a promise. These two murderers are already deadwood and will be executed in any case. But what about the trial of the real culprits? Why have they not been summoned to the court?” Mr. Ahmadi told me: “The case is making its way through the court. They will be tried and you will be present at their trial.”

I hope this is the case. If this bereaved mother sees that justice is done, she will find peace. I hope to get answers about their trial next week.

 

Earlier you told me you had protested against the fact that officials had ignored Alireza’s demands before he was murdered. Have you followed up on this?

In protest against the conditions in Fashafuyeh, my son was on a hunger strike for 34 days. He also wrote three open letters to the prison’s chief warden, Hedayat Farzadi. Why did the chief warden ignore these letters? Why did the deputy prosecutor not keep his promise to transfer him to Evin Prison? My son had said that his life had been threatened. Even other inmates told prison officials that these two murderers were making knives from ceramics to kill somebody so that they would be returned to Rajaei Shahr Prison. But instead of dealing with these two murderers, the murderers learned about the complaint and beat up the inmate who had reported them.

Why did Reza Haghvardi, the officer on duty, cast sexual insults at Barzan Mohammadi and my son, who were on hunger strike, and tell them that their hunger strike would end in death? Under what right did the officer on duty humiliate and threaten our children in this way? They are prisoners, not slaves. Under what right did they tell my son things that they deserve [to be told] themselves?

When my son had severe abdominal pain and asked to be taken to the clinic, the two officers on duty — Mehdi Rashidi and Reza Haddadi — told him, “lie down and die. If you make a peep we will throw you in the cell with murderers so that they will [rape] you at night.” Why don’t they put these people on trial? What kind of justice is this?

 

Do you feel that you have also been mistreated?

When my son was suffering from stomach pain, I called the prison to urge them to do something about it. They spoke to me in the worst possible way. They shouted insults at me, which they themselves deserved. They threatened me that if I called again they would come and take me away in handcuffs. Why should they treat the family of a prisoner in this humiliating, insulting and threatening way? What kind of upbringing did they have that they could so easily speak such sexual obscenities?

 

Besides demanding the trial of those responsible for Alireza’s murder, have you made other requests to judiciary officials?

During the burial ceremonies for Alireza, security agents pulled the chairs from under the guests, confiscated the loudspeakers and told the flute player that they would break his hands if he played any music.

They told me that they would show Mr. Raeesi the video, which they took in my home. I said: “If on the 40th day ceremonies for my child, security agents again disrespect the guests, I will bare my head right there and then and start protesting. I just want them to leave us alone. I have nothing more to lose. My only mission in life is to seek justice for the blood of my child.”

 

When will the 40th day mourning ceremony for Alireza be?

Alireza’s 40th day was on Wednesday, July 24, but because I wanted Alireza’s friends to be able to attend, I will hold the ceremonies on Friday [August 2] between 6pm to 7:30pm at the gravesite. We will then have a dinner to celebrate his memory.

 

And what have these 40 days have been like?

I was 19 when I gave birth to Alireza. Alireza was not only my son but also my friend. Our relationship was more like friends than a mother-child relationship. Over these 40 days, the grief over losing him has turned all my hair gray. I have become old in my youth. My life over the last 40 days has been spent at Behesht-e Zahra [Cemetery] and at the court.

I still have my mobile phone on — I received Alireza’s calls from prison on it, and I keep it turned on. I am still waiting for him to call and see the photograph of him that I had linked to his number. I am still in shock. I cannot believe that Alireza is gone. His trial was set for July 9, and he used to tell me, “Mother, be confident that I will be released!”

 

Related Coverage:

Notes from Fashafuyeh: “The Prison Sentence That Could End in Death”, June 27, 2019

IranWire Exclusive: Interview with Cellmate of Slain Political Prisoner, June 24, 2019

Political Prisoners Demand Justice for Murder of Fellow Inmate, June 20, 2019

More Violence in Tehran Prison as Judge Accuses Dervishes of Being “Rioters”, June 20, 2019

"My Son Was My Reason to Live. They Took Him Away from Me”, June 15, 2019

Political Prisoner Murdered While Awaiting Appeal, June 12, 2019

Riots Endanger Lives of Political Prisoners, May 10, 2019

A Young Iranian’s Memory of Torture, Humiliation and Urine, January 29, 2019

Prison Life and the Big Business of Smuggled Knives, December 14, 2018

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