Hassan Zare Dehnavi
Hassan Zare Dehnavi, known as Judge Haddad or Hassan Haddad (
Biography
Dehnavi was born into a
In the following years, Dehnavi obtained a degree in
From 2000 to 2005, as a judge at the Tehran revolutionary court's 26th chamber from 2000 to 2005, he sentenced several journalists to long prison terms.[10] Among journalists and activists tried by him were Akbar Ganji, Shiva Nazar Ahari, Ezzatollah Sahabi, Fereshteh Ghazi, Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, and a number of students from the Office for Strengthening Unity. Kianush Sanjari published an open letter accusing Dehnavi of presiding over torture and mistreatment of prisoners, Ali Afshari cited Dehnavi as "a clear example of the non-independence of the judiciary from the security services", and Reza Alijani stated that "...intelligence services had just begun appointing puppet judges to the Revolutionary Courts: usually select individuals with an array of personal weaknesses, be they moral, financial or political. Haddad was said to have issues in all these areas, making him a completely obedient figure. Our interrogators said on several occasions that the judge was 'useless', and when we told Haddad what they had said, he didn't even react."[11] Among procedural violations ascribed to him were prolonged solitary confinement, denied access to family and to a lawyer, and physical and psychological torture.[12]
In May 2007, shortly after the announcement of the dissolution of the Islamic Association of
Also in 2007, Dehnavi was involved in the imprisonment of Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari, detained for nearly three months in Evin Prison under accusation of "endangering national security through propaganda against the system and espionage for foreigners".[14]
In April 2009 Dehnavi was involved in the trial of American journalist Roxana Saberi, whom he charged with espionage. Saberi spent three months in Evin prison and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, but was released in May 2009.[15][16][17]
As judge in Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, he handled many cases of detainees after the
Dehnavi was one of 32 Iranian officials who on April 13, 2011, were banned from entering the European Union, for their role in widespread and grave violations of Iranian citizens' rights. An order was also issued to seize all the assets of these officials in Europe.[25][26]
In 2014 Dehnavi was among six Iranian judges accused by human rights organisations of leading a crackdown on journalists and political activists, acting under the influence of the regime's intelligence and security apparatus; "losing their judicial impartiality and overseeing miscarriages of justice in trials in which scores of journalists, lawyers, political activists and members of Iran's ethnic and religious minorities have been condemned to lengthy prison terms, lashes and even execution... common violations by the judges include holding trials behind closed doors, lasting only a few minutes and without essential legal procedures, intimidating defendants, breaching judicial independence by acting as prosecutors themselves and depriving prisoners of access to lawyers".[27]
On 31 October 2020, it was announced that Dehnavi had died of COVID-19 at Gandhi Hospital in Tehran on 28 October. He was 64 years old at the time of his death.[28]
References
- ^ Iran’s crumbling judiciary
- ^ Human rights violator: Hassan ZAREH DEHNAVI (Hassan Haddad)
- ^ Witness Statement of Mahnaz Parakand
- ^ Torturer Judge Dies of Covid-19, Escaping Justice
- ^ Roxana Saberi's trial begins
- ^ Hassan Zare Dehnavi
- ^ Roxana Saberi's trial begins
- ^ Torturer Judge Dies of Covid-19, Escaping Justice
- ^ Hassan Zare Dehnavi
- ^ Roxana Saberi's trial begins
- ^ Torturer Judge Dies of Covid-19, Escaping Justice
- ^ Hassan Zare Dehnavi
- ^ Hassan Zare Dehnavi
- ^ "Chicago News". Chicago Tribune. 6 November 2023.
- ^ IRÁN | En huelga de hambre miembros de RsF en apoyo a periodista irano-norteamericana
- ^ Greve de fome deixa frágil repórter americana presa no Irã
- ^ Roxana Saberi's trial begins
- ^ Former Judge Sheds New Light On Kahrizak Scandal
- ^ “I Didn’t See A Need to Summon Those Witnesses,” Says the Kahrizak Judge
- ^ Kahrizak prison incident trial held in Iran behind closed doors
- ^ Human rights violator: Hassan ZAREH DEHNAVI (Hassan Haddad)
- ^ Iran: Bring Notorious Abuser to Justice
- ^ Torturer Judge Dies of Covid-19, Escaping Justice
- ^ Hassan Zare Dehnavi
- ^ Human rights violator: Hassan ZAREH DEHNAVI (Hassan Haddad)
- ^ Hassan Zare Dehnavi
- ^ "Six judges accused of leading role in Iranian crackdown on free speech". The Guardian. 2014-07-31. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10.
- ^ Torturer Judge Dies of Covid-19, Escaping Justice