Trial of Hamid Nouri

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The trial of Hamid Nouri in an ongoing case involving Hamid Nouri, an Iranian official detained in Sweden in November 2019. Nouri is accused of being a key figure in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, where 30,000 Iranians were massacred.[1] In early 2021 charges of murder and war crimes were filed against the former Iranian prosecutor.[2][3] The trial constitutes the first time someone has been charged in relation to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.[4] Nouri is charged with more than 100 murders and grave war crimes, and he is expected to provide evidence also implicating Ebrahim Raisi.[5]

Background[]

Hamid Nouri, born on 29 April 1961, was known as Hamid Abbasi among political inmates. He was an IRGC jail guard recruited by the Iranian Judiciary. He assisted prosecutors in Evin and Gohardasht Prison and worked closely with , the prison's associate prosecutor and was a member of the Gohardasht Prison Death Commission in 1988. [6] The 1988 killings targeted members of People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a group that advocated overthrowing the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[7]

The executions derived from a 1988 fatwa ordered by Ayatollah Khomeini.[8] The fatwa ordered the execution of all the Iranian prisoners that supported and were loyal to the MEK.[9]

An audio file by former Deputy Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri, emerged in 2016 where Montazeri is heard telling , , Ebrahim Raisi, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi that "the biggest crime in the Islamic Republic, for which the history will condemn us, has been committed at you.[10]

Arrest[]

On November 9, 2019, Swedish policemen detained Nouri at Arlanda Airport after a tip-off from a survivor of the executions, Iraj Mesdaghi.[2]

Investigation[]

In 2016, an investigation committee examining the 1988 massacre and individuals implicated was proposed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.[11] This committee looked at Moghisei, Lashgari, and Nouri. These efforts seek a trial for all government officials involved in the 1988 massacre, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and Supreme Court Chief Mohseni-Ejei.[12] On 3 May 2021, 152 former UN officials, Nobel laureates, former leaders of state, and human rights experts called for an international investigation.[13]

The Trial[]

Nouri was first detained in 2019. He was an assistant public prosecutor who reportedly took on an important role in the execution of Iranian political prisoners in 1988.[14] Nouri is accused of providing names to prosecutors, giving death sentences, and taking prisoners to execution chambers.[15][16]

Prosecutors in Stockholm district court recited charges against Hamid Nouri, including murder and war crimes. He was allegedly assistant to the deputy prosecutor of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, outside Tehran, between July 30 and August 16, 1988.[17] Nouri is also being accused of "torture, execution, and secret burial of the victims and not letting their families know about their burial place."[18]

Nouri's lawyer, Daniel Marcus, said he would counter all claims during the trial.[19] The three-day case is expected to take place in April 2022.[20] In 2018, the UN also stated that the 1998 massacre was a "crime against humanity".[21]

Temporary relocation to Albania[]

The trial relocated to Durrës, Albania for two weeks in order to facilitate testimonies from People’s Mujahedin of Iran witnesses.[22][23] The first trial session took place on November 10.[24]

Testimonies[]

Testimonies so far have been made by witnesses including members of the MEK. The trial has received testimonies from victims telling of torture, mass hangings, and "brutal summary justice". Reza Falahi told AFP that he had seen Nouri while he was at “the death corridor”, and “whenever they read some people’s names he followed them toward the death chamber.”[25][26]

Mohammad Zand, who was arrested in 1981 for supporting the MEK, was the first plaintiff and witness at the court in Durres. According to Zand, Nouri participated in taking people to be executed. Zand also said that these were "only a small part of the clerical regime's crimes".[27]

References[]

  1. ^ "Hamid Nouri: Iranian accused in mass purge of dissidents is arrested in Sweden". The Times.
  2. ^ a b "Hamid Nouri: How Sweden arrested a suspected Iranian war criminal". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Hamid Nouri Trial Opens in Stockholm". IranWire | خانه. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Sweden Jails Iranian Prosecutor Implicated In Mass Execution In Prisons".
  5. ^ "Hamid Nouri: Prison massacre accused to give evidence at landmark trial in Sweden". Euronews.
  6. ^ "Hamid Noury, a perpetrator of the 1988 massacre, tried for crimes against humanity". NCRI Women Committee. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Trial Of Iranian Charged With War Crimes Begins In Sweden". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Butchers of Tehran must be held to account". Arab News. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Butchers of Tehran must be held to account". AP News.
  10. ^ Barlow, Rebecca (2018). Human Rights and Agents of Change in Iran: Towards a Theory of Change. Springer. p. 100.
  11. ^ "Iran Marks Anniversary of 1988 Prison Massacre With Impunity and Silence". CJFE | Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Iran's Ebrahim Raisi: The hardline cleric who became president". BBC News. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  13. ^ "The world should be watching Hamid Nouri's trial in Sweden | View". euronews. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Sweden Jails Iranian Prosecutor Implicated In Mass Execution In Prisons".
  15. ^ "Sweden tries Hamid Nouri over 1988 Iran prison massacre".
  16. ^ "Prison guards 'celebrated hangings at Iran jail with sweets'". The National News.
  17. ^ Lanington, George. "War Crimes Trial of Former Iranian Official Begins in Sweden | Iran - Digis Mak". Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Sweden Jails Iranian Prosecutor Implicated In Mass Execution In Prisons".
  19. ^ "Iranian ex-official denies roles in war crimes in 1988". South China Morning Post. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  20. ^ Stockholm, AFP in (10 August 2021). "War crimes trial of former Iranian official begins in Sweden". the Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Hamid Nouri: Prison massacre accused to give evidence at landmark trial in Sweden". Euronews.
  22. ^ "Hamid Nouri: Prison massacre accused to give evidence at landmark trial in Sweden". Euronews.
  23. ^ "Prison guards 'celebrated hangings at Iran jail with sweets'". The National News.
  24. ^ "War Crimes Trial of Iranian Ex-Official Moves to Albania". Balkan Insight. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ "Iranian accused of war crimes to testify over 1988 prison massacres". The National News. 11 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Iranian ex-official to testify in Sweden war crimes trial". Arab News. 11 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Iranian ex-official's trial resumes in Albania". France24. 11 November 2021.
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