The Brothers of a Man sentenced to Death in Election trials Say He was Deceived by Interrogators

Naser Abdolhosseini is among the people who were arrested after the presidential election. During the show trials, Abdolhosseini confessed to charges that were brought up against him. Last Saturday, the public relations office of the Tehran justice department announced that Abdolhosseini has been sentenced to death.

Naser Abdolhosseini is 22 years old and, according to his family, does not have a political history. He comes from a working class family from southern Tehran and was self employed prior to his arrest. We sat down to talk with his two brothers, Mojtaba and Nader, about their brother’s trial and his death sentence.

I asked Mojtaba about how the death sentence was issued. In a sad and worried voice he answered:

“My brother was told that if he made televised confessions, his sentence would be reduced. They told him televised confessions would reduce his prison term and he would be released before the end of his term. They deceived him into making televised confessions, but contrary to what he was promised, they sentenced him to death. They took advantage of Naser and played with his life”.

I asked him if the family had been aware that Naser was going to make televised confessions.

“We were not aware that my brother was going to make televised confessions. We only found out two weeks later — when we went to visit him in prison — that he had been told to confess in return for his early release.”

Mojtaba goes on to say:

“The phone conversation recording that was introduced as evidence during the hearing is a forged tape. My brother never had a phone conversation or contact with the person (Zohreh) on the recording. This is not true at all. In the recording that was broadcasted by the IRIB, Zohreh asks my brother to cause arson by using a Molotov cocktail. My brother can’t even pronounce the word Molotov cocktail. During the hearing he mispronounced the word. Tell me how could have he been involved in doing such things?”

Naser Abdolhosseini has been accused of having ties to the Mojahedin-e-Khalgh organization, something that both his brothers deny.

I asked them about Naser’s arrest and if their brother took part in the protests. Mojtaba answered:

“My brother was arrested on June 26th. We used to work together as salesmen. Our job was to sell auto parts in other cities. Naser has no history of political activity. He had never been arrested before.”

Nader, Naser’s other brother added:

“When they arrested my brother they did not show us any incriminating evidence. They did not have any evidence against him and could not find any when they searched the house. My brother does not even have a high school diploma. He does not own a computer or an email address. How could he have sent information outside Iran as it is alleged? My brother comes from a working class family in southern Tehran. Nobody in our family or among our relatives has ever been involved in politics.”

Naser Abdolhosseini, who was tried for taking part in post election riots, has been found guilty of the charge and was sentenced to death. However, he was not in Tehran at the time of the protests and was doing his job in another city. His brother, Nader, talked about his brother’s involvement in the post election protests:

“The allegations that my brother took part in the protest are completely unfounded. Prior to his arrest on June 26th, he had been doing his job as an auto parts salesman in the southern city of Boushehr. The night they came to arrest him, he had just returned from his business trip and was so tired that he had not even changed.”

The two brothers have a lot of objections to the trial and the way the court appointed lawyer handled their brother’s case. Mojtaba said:

“During the trial the court appointed lawyer did not defend my brother. He has only contacted my brother twice and has done nothing for his case.”

Nader said:

“The statement of defense the lawyer read during the hearing was useless. The indictment against my brother did not correspond to the facts. My brother was not in Tehran during the protests and, therefore, could not have taken part in the protests or chanted slogans. He was in Boushehr doing his job as a salesman, and there were no protests in Boushehr. Even the court appointed lawyer thought my brother was going to be released. I was even told to prepare documents for his release. Unfortunately, now he has been sentenced to death.”

Up until three weeks ago, the entire family could visit Naser in prison. Now only the parents can visit him. Naser is currently detained in Ward 8 at Evin. His two brothers are the only ones in the family who know about his death sentence. The do not have the heart to tell their parents or other siblings about it. Naser’s parents still believe their son will go home soon.

At the end of the interview, Nader Abdolhosseini told me:

“I want to ask the Judiciary, the Intelligence and human rights organizations to come and get to know our family and see how we live. My father is a war veteran and has worked in Jamaran for five years. He is retired now and lives on his pension. My brother is a naïve person who has never been involved in politics. He has been charged for waging war against God and sentenced to death. Has he killed anyone to deserve this? He has never harmed anyone or any government in his life.”

And, in a sad voice, Mojtaba added:

“Naser always tells us during phone conversations that there is a God. He always tries to comfort us and says he has not done anything wrong and that he is sure nothing bad will happen to him.”

In a voice that was filled with pessimism Mojtaba said:

“Nobody is defending my brother. Even his lawyer, who is supposed to follow up on his case, is not doing anything serious. My brother is innocent. He has not done anything wrong. They lured him to confess by promising his freedom, and my naive brother trusted them. My brother is an innocent man.”

Source: http://www.madyariran.net/?p=2620