Four defendants from the Ekbatan case re-arrested in Tehran
Hengaw; Monday, November 4, 2024
Four defendants in the “Ekbatan ” case, Hossein Nemati, Alireza Barmarz-Pournak, Alireza Kafaie, and Amir Mohammad Khosh Ighbal, were re-arrested after attending the final hearing of the case involving eight defendants on 2 and 3 of November. Following the hearing in Branch 13 of Tehran’s Criminal Court, they were transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organiztion for Human Rights, on November 3, 2024, these four individuals, who had previously been released on bail of 5 billion tomans after over a year of temporary detention, were taken into custody again. Their re-arrest follows their last defense session on charges of “participation in premeditated murder and intentional assault,” and they have been returned to Rajai Shahr Prison.
The remaining defendants in the case—Milad Armon, Mehdi Imani, Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini, and Navid Najaran—have been arrested for two years in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj, with their cases still unresolved.
Payam Derafshan, the lawyer for Hossein Nemati, stated on social media platform X that “the bail for Hossein Nemati and three other defendants has been revoked and converted to detention orders, and all have been transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison.” He also noted that the re-arrest occurred without new charges and that the defense team remains unclear on the reasons for the bail revocation. Additionally, consultants present at the recent hearing were not involved in previous sessions, limiting case discussions with the defense team.
The Ekbatan case emerged in November 2022 during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement following the death of Basij Arman Alivardi in Tehran’s Ekbatan neighborhood. Initially, 14 individuals were charged in connection with the incident, with indictments issued for eight of them.
The defendants, including Hossein Nemati (arrested on December 15, 2022), Amir Mohammad Khosh Ighbal (December 7, 2022), Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini (December 6, 2022), Mehdi Imani (November 16, 2022), Alireza Kafaie and Alireza Barmarz Pournak (November 4, 2022), and Milad Armon (November 2, 2022), were arrested by security forces. Another defendant, Navid Najaran, was later arrested in Ahvaz and transferred to Tehran.
On August 1, 2023, the detainees were transferred from Rajai Shahr Prison to Ghezel Hesar Prison without prior notice. On December 6, 2023, Milad Armon, Mehdi Imani, and Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini were charged with “Moharebeh (Waging war against God) using cold weapons” in Branch 13 of Tehran’s Criminal Court, while the other five defendants faced charges of “participation in murder” and “assembly and collusion against national security.”
In a distressing incident in July 2024, defendant Amir Mohammad Khosh Ighbal, 25, attempted suicide while in detention at the Intelligence Protection Detention Center of the Air Force and the Intelligence Bureau, reportedly due to severe torture, but ultimately survived.
