IRAN - Younes Akhtar Samar

IRAN - Younes Akhtar Samar was executed in Jiroft on October 14

October 14, 2024:

October 14, 2024 - IRAN. Younes Akhtar Samar (Samer) was executed in Jiroft on October 14
He was sentenced based on elme-qazi and a qassameh ceremony due to the lack of evidence against him
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Jiroft Prison on 14 October. His identity has been established as Younes Akhtar Samar who was sentenced for murder based on elm-e-qazi (knowledge of the judge) and a qassameh ceremony.
A source told IHR: “There wasn’t enough evidence against Younes in the case so they sentenced him to death based on elm-e-qazi and qassameh. He had five children and the victim’s family demanded 20 billion tomans as diya which Younes’ family couldn’t afford.”
At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
According to the Islamic Penal Code, when there is no confession or witness testimony in a case, the judge can make a decision based on his exclusive opinion, without any reference to laws and codes. This is known as elm-e-qazi or “knowledge of the judge.” The law requires that rulings based on a judge’s “knowledge” derive from evidence, including circumstantial evidence, and not merely personal belief that the defendant is guilty of the crime. However, there have been cases where elm-e-qazi has been arbitrarily applied. For instance, in December 2007, Makwan Moloudzadeh was executed for sodomy charges based on the “knowledge of the judge”.
Qassameh, or a sworn oath, is another way of proving guilt for a crime (murder or injury) in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Where there is insufficient evidence in cases of qisas, but the judge still has doubts either because he believes the victim to be guilty or due to circumstantial evidence, he can declare los, insufficient evidence of guilt. In such an event, the victim or victim’s next of kin have the right to qassameh. Qassameh is based on swearing an oath on the Quran by a certain number of the victim’s family. In murder cases, 50 male members of the victim’s family are required to make a qassameh. It is important to note that the people who swear in qassameh ceremonies are not required to be and are not usually direct witnesses to the crime.

https://iranhr.net/en/articles/7011/
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2024/10/article-60