HRANA News Agency – Ahwaz Revolutionary Court sentenced four defendants of the so-called “Hamidieh Case” to long term in prison and three other defendants to death. The sentences were upheld by the appeals court. According to informed sources defendants were between 20 and 25 years old when they were arrested.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), in 2015, there was an attack on police soldiers’ tent in Gombohe of Hamidieh city inspection by some people on “a motorcycle”. Following this incident, security forces arrested twenty suspects living in Hamidieh.
Most of the detainees were later released on the bail but seven of them were still in detention.
Ahwaz Revolutionary Court sentenced four defendants of the so-called “Hamidieh case” to long term in prison and three other defendants to death. The sentences were upheld by the appeals court:
Qais Obeidavi, son of Shaker, 25, graduated of law, sentenced to death.
His brother, son of Shaker, 20, diploma, sentenced to death.
His cousin Sajjad Balavi (Obeidavi), law student, sentenced to death.
Mohammad Halafi, 24, sentenced to 35 years in Yazd prison.
Mahdi Sayahi, sentenced to 35 years in Yazd prison.
Mahdi Moerbi, graduated from teacher training on the verge of becoming a teacher, sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Ali Obeidavi, sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The judiciary tried them on charge of shooting to the soldiers of police in Gombohe village in Hamidieh which happened on April 2, 2015 and during which three guards were killed, and also shooting to Rahyan Noor convoy, attacking and shooting at police Shelter at Shariati bridge, destroying seismic equipment of oil company, as well as charges of Muharebeh, corruption on earth, commissioning and membership in terrorist groups.
A source close to the families of the seven Arab citizens from Hamidieh in an interview with HRANA’s reporter said: “in recent years, the events have been taken place in this area and every time any suspect who was arrested confessed after being torturing about this events.”
The source continued: “In Hamidieh a citizen was murdered in 2004. In 2003 there was an attack on Shariati station in Hamidieh and two officers were injured. The destruction of machinery and equipment of the Oil Company in 2002, the attack on Rahyan Noor convoy in 2005 and the last one was the attack on Gombohe inspection, after which several people have been arrested with the same charges in Hamidieh. Some of them even after confessing under torture were proven to be innocent and were acquitted. In fact, these events are the excuses to repress the activists in this area. Even now, two people have been sentenced to long prison sentences and life imprisonment on the same charges.”
The source added: “The initial trial asked the victims’ families to sue the detainees that despite all pressures all of them refused because all the people were from Hamidieh or around it. The only family whose did sue, was the family of an agent from Ize.”
The source close to the family brought up an important point in this case and noted: “The Chief Justice and the Attorney General before the lower court’s verdict, announced that the defendants would be executed in public. The process itself is illegal.”
He also said at the end: “The families of the defendants were forced to leave Hamidieh under obligations of security institutions and live in the city near to Ahvaz and now they are under pressure to move to another region.”
It is worth noting that three main inmates with the death penalty were held in the solitary confinement in the Intelligence Ministry since being arrested which means 1 year and half and upholding the death sentences has been notified to their families.