Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Behruz Shahin

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Non-Believer
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: September 10, 1981
Location of Killing: Masjed Soleyman, Khuzestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Living in safe houses; Participating in armed demonstrations; Possession of arms; Sympathizing with anti-regime guerilla groups

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Behruz Shahin, son of Abdollah, along with three others, was published in the Kayhannewspaper on September 13, 1981. The Public Relations Department of the Central Public Prosecutor’s Office announced these executions, the defendants' names and their charges.

Mr. Behruz Shahin is one of the 430 individuals whose names appear on the list of “Martyrs of the Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class” published on the website of Andeesheh va Peykar. This list contains the names of those members of the organization who died after the revolution of 1979. More than 400 of the individuals on this list have been executed.

Mr. Behruz Shahin is one of the 12,028 individuals listed in an addendum to the Mojahed magazine (No 261), published by the Mojahedin Khalq Organization on September 6, 1985. The list includes individuals, affiliated with various opposition groups, who were executed or killed during clashes with the Islamic Republic security forces from June 1981 to the publication date of the magazine.

The Peykar Organization for the Liberation of the Working Class was founded by a number of dissident members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization who had converted to Marxism-Leninism. Peykar was also joined by a number of political organizations, known as Khat-e Se (Third line). The founding tenets of Peykar included the rejection of guerrilla struggle and a strong stand against the pro-Soviet policies of the Iranian Tudeh Party. Peykar viewed the Soviet Union as a "Social imperialist" state, believed that China had deviated from the Marxist-Leninist principles, and radically opposed all factions of the Islamic regime of Iran. The brutal repression of dissidents by the Iranian government and splits within Peykar in 1981 and 1982 effectively dismantled the Organization and scattered its supporters. By the mid-1980s, Peykar was no longer in existence.

Arrest and detention

The circumstances of this defendant’s arrest and detention are not known.

Trial

No information is available on the defendant’s trial.

Charges

According to the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Masjedsoleiman, the charges against Mr. Behruz Shahin were announced as,“activity in a team house and the military faction of the American organization of Peykar, possession of huge amounts of ammunition and destructive materials such as grenades, bullets, bombs, and similar materials in his house, and active participation in anti-revolutionary demonstrations resulting in killing and injuringof some [people].”

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.

Evidence of guilt

According to the above announcement, Mr. Behruz Shahin had a record of criminal activity. But the report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against the defendant.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Behruz Shahin's defense.

Judgment

َThe Islamic Revolutionary Court of Masjedsoleiman identified Mr. Behruz Shahin as "Mofsed (corruptor on Earth) and Mohareb (fighter) against God the Prophet." He was condemned to death. The ruling was carried out when he was executed on September 10, 1981.

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