Acquitting a Bassij agent accused of raping two little girls, only 7 and 8 years old, in one of the villages of Gonbad Kavus, northern Iran, outraged the public and led to massive protest demonstrations in the city.
The sentry guard of Golestan Dam, Ali Khan-Ahmadi, 54 and a former revolutionary guard, raped the two little girls on March 21, 2021 in the Arab-Sarrang village, located in the central parts of Gonbad Kavus county.
One of the members of the Arab-Sarrang village council confirmed that the rapes had taken place in the sentry office of Golestan Dam. He added, “Following the incident, the inhabitants of the village beat up the (assailant) man. Eventually, the State Security forces (SFF) intervened and took Khan-Ahmadi to the judicial authorities.”
The victims’ families filed a judicial complaint and pressed charges of rape against the sentry guard, Ali Khan-Ahmadi.
However, the Prosecutor of Gonbad Kavus, Ali Yazadni, subsequently announced that “the Coroner’s Office had rejected the likelihood of rape.” Instead, he said, the assailant was summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office, interviewed and arraigned with the charge of “kidnapping.”
Following the Prosecutor Office’s announcement, some of the residents of Arab-Sarrang village took to the streets on March 23, 2021. Upon SSF intervention, the protesters got angry and shattered the window shields of the SFF cars.
Abdol-Qadir Karimi, the county’s Governor, promised the protesters that the Judiciary would punish Ali Khan-Ahmadi if it finds him guilty of the charges.
According to the residents of Arab-Sarrang village, the sentry guard, Ali Khan-Ahmadi, had previous record of child abuse, but they did not have any evidence to accuse him.
This is not the first time that corrupt agents and operatives of the mullahs’ regime sexually abuse and rape women and children but escape punishment. Relying on misogynous laws, the clerical regime’s Judiciary acquits and exonerates its own agents, holding sham trials and handing down light sentences, or setting them free, all together.
Rape of Zahra Navidpour by a Parliamentary Deputy
In October 2019, the Tehran Province’s Judiciary did not uphold the flogging and exile sentence for Salman Khodadai, member of the mullahs’ parliament from the city of Malekan, in East Azerbaijan Province, who was charged with raping Zahra Navidpour.
Promising to give her a job, he lured Zahra to his office in Tehran where he raped her.
Following Zahra Navidpour’s filing suit against Khodadadi, the Tehran Province’s Penal Court found him guilty of rape (without committing violence) and sentenced him to 99 lashes of the whip, two years of exile and being deprived of holding elected and appointed offices.
Khodadadi objected to the ruling, and so his case was passed for review to the Branch 47 of the Supreme Court which turned down the charge of rape. Then under the pretext of his medical records, including diabetes and insulin injections, the court observed his objection and did not uphold the ruling of the lower court. The case was once again returned to the Penal Court of Tehran Province to be examined again. (Fararu state-run website, October 15, 2019)
Gang rape of 41 girls and young women in Iranshahr
In June 2018, the gang rape of 41 girls and young women in Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchistan shocked Iran.
Findings showed that a group of 4 men with ties to the paramilitary institutions in the regime, had committed this crime.
Tayyebeh Siavoshi, a member of parliament at the time, said that her own independent research from unofficial sources indicated that the first person apprehended in this case enjoyed power and financial base. (The official IRNA news agency, June 18, 2019)
The regime’s Prosecutor General threatened to arrest those who disseminated the news, and the judiciary arrested some of the civil activists protesting of this issue.
Nearly three years on, the verdict for punishment of the four assailants in this case has not been finalized, yet.
On December 24, 2020, the public relations of the General and Revolutionary Court of Iranshahr announced that the Revision Court of the Province had upheld 74 lashes, 5 years of imprisonment and 5 years of being deprived of social rights for each of the four convicts for their part in “taking film from the complainants and using it for blackmail.”
However, the punishment for their more important charges, including rape, kidnapping, and theft are still being examined!!! (The official IRNA news agency, December 24, 2020)
Lack of any bills or laws criminalizing rape
In the absence of any bills or laws criminalizing rape or any form of violence against women in Iran, the victims of rape and violence do not enjoy any form of social or legal support.
On the one hand, the assailants’ ties to power centers and government agencies help them escape punishment. On the other hand, the victimized women are considered as accomplices in the crime and are charged, themselves. Something that dissuades most women from reporting or filing suits if they are raped or battered.
