Background: Mr. Saeed Malekpour was detained in October 2008 and sentenced to death in December 2010 without having had regular access to a lawyer or the resources with which to defend himself. He was arrested after returning to Iran to see his terminally ill father on the false allegation of “developing an adult website.” Never has any proof been presented that Mr. Malekpour is associated in anyway with the website. Because Mr. Malekpour’s Internet law case is full of technical terms and nuances, there is little knowledge or understanding of the “evidence.” Mr. Malekpour’s lawyer has not been allowed to build a case due to being denied communications with his client. Mr. Ghajar has been allowed to see the case file, but has not been allowed to see the notes by the IRGC that shows how it reached the conclusions that led to Mr. Malekpour’s unfounded charges. Since being detained, Mr. Malekpour has suffered extensive solitary confinement, torture, threats, violent interrogations, and forced false confessions. Mr. Malekpour is onlyallowed one in-person meeting per month and is only allowed to make one short phone call a week. Please urge your colleagues to halt all harassment, violence, and abuse against Mr. Malekpour. On January 22, 2011, Mr. Malekpour was taken to Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, despite the fact that neither his family nor his lawyer was informed. He had no legal representation and refused to defend himself during the trial, instead insisting that his lawyer be present. More recently, the Supreme Court declared it was unable to reach a voting decision on Mr. Malekpour’s case due to discrepancies in his file. Mr. Malekpour’s lawyer stated in his report to the Supreme Court that all evidence was based on false confessions extracted under torture. Due to the discrepancies, the Supreme Court has returned Mr. Malekpour’s case file to the same branch and judge of the Revolutionary Court. The presiding judge, Judge Moghiseh, has ignored the need to address discrepancies within the case file and instead re-issued the death sentence during a brief hearing. In mid-January 2012, his execution sentence was confirmed. Write to Iranian officials urging them to guarantee Mr. Malekpour his due rights, afford him a fair trial, as well as access to independent legal representation, medical care, freedom from physical and psychological torture, and most importantly, a halt to his execution sentence. Read more and see various reactions from officials internationally here. Click here to send a letter >>
Background: Mr. Saeed Malekpour was detained in October 2008 and sentenced to death in December 2010 without having had regular access to a lawyer or the resources with which to defend himself. He was arrested after returning to Iran to see his terminally ill father on the false allegation of “developing an adult website.” Never has any proof been presented that Mr. Malekpour is associated in anyway with the website. Because Mr. Malekpour’s Internet law case is full of technical terms and nuances, there is little knowledge or understanding of the “evidence.” Mr. Malekpour’s lawyer has not been allowed to build a case due to being denied communications with his client. Mr. Ghajar has been allowed to see the case file, but has not been allowed to see the notes by the IRGC that shows how it reached the conclusions that led to Mr. Malekpour’s unfounded charges. Since being detained, Mr. Malekpour has suffered extensive solitary confinement, torture, threats, violent interrogations, and forced false confessions. Mr. Malekpour is onlyallowed one in-person meeting per month and is only allowed to make one short phone call a week. Please urge your colleagues to halt all harassment, violence, and abuse against Mr. Malekpour. On January 22, 2011, Mr. Malekpour was taken to Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, despite the fact that neither his family nor his lawyer was informed. He had no legal representation and refused to defend himself during the trial, instead insisting that his lawyer be present. More recently, the Supreme Court declared it was unable to reach a voting decision on Mr. Malekpour’s case due to discrepancies in his file. Mr. Malekpour’s lawyer stated in his report to the Supreme Court that all evidence was based on false confessions extracted under torture. Due to the discrepancies, the Supreme Court has returned Mr. Malekpour’s case file to the same branch and judge of the Revolutionary Court. The presiding judge, Judge Moghiseh, has ignored the need to address discrepancies within the case file and instead re-issued the death sentence during a brief hearing. In mid-January 2012, his execution sentence was confirmed. Write to Iranian officials urging them to guarantee Mr. Malekpour his due rights, afford him a fair trial, as well as access to independent legal representation, medical care, freedom from physical and psychological torture, and most importantly, a halt to his execution sentence. Read more and see various reactions from officials internationally here. Click here to send a letter >>