Islamic republican justice system

The Los Angeles Times managed to interview the solicitor of Arash Rahmanipour. The young man was executed on 28th January 2010 along with fellow Monarchist Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani (37).

“Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh (46) is filled with rage over the treatment of her client, 20-year-old Arash Rahmanipour, who was not defended in court and then was quietly put to death.”

"The defendant met with his lawyer once for 15 minutes before he was sentenced to death and hanged.

"When the lawyer complained to authorities, they ignored her. When she tried to enter the courtroom where he was being tried, they threatened her with arrest. And when she spoke out publicly at what she described as a gross miscarriage of justice, they shut off her cellphone.

"Rahmanipour was arrested in April, weeks before the disputed June presidential election and the mass protests that erupted afterward. Nonetheless, he was tried during the mass court proceedings against opposition supporters last fall and sentenced to death on charges of being a mohareb, someone who takes up arms against God.

"After the sentence was read out in court, Rahmanipour pulled himself together, Sotoudeh said. He wrote a letter to his father, Davoud, describing himself as Arash the Archer, a character from Persian legend, who stretched the string of his bow to send an arrow to the farthest distance, sacrificing himself for his nation.

"Immediately after an appeals court upheld the conviction three months later, he was executed.

"At noon, Rahmanipour's father called Sotoudeh. To her surprise, he spoke hopefully about visiting his son that day. They had spoken Monday, and Rahmanipour had told him he'd be allowed to see his parents on Thursday.

"He had no idea that his son had been executed hours earlier."