After 8 Years of Sabotage and Judicial Procrastination, The Murder Case of a Baha’i, Ataollah Rezvani, is Being Investigated

Source: www.hra-news.org

Translation by Iran Press Watch

HRANA ‒ The murder case of Ata’u’llah Rezvani, a Baha’i citizen of Bandar Abbas, has been referred to Branch 6 of the Bandar Abbas Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office for retrial, eight years after the incident took place. This case had been removed from the archives of the Bandar Abbas court for investigation after years of sabotage and judicial procrastination. In August 2013, the news of the murder of this citizen was published in the media. Due to the victim’s belief in the Baha’i faith and his record of social service activities in Bandar Abbas, and the sporadic clashes that he had with some influential institutions in the city, such as the office of the Friday Prayer Leader in Bandar Abbas, from the first hours of the news of his murder, suspicions was directed toward the intelligence and security agencies. Despite the passage of years, the perpetrator or perpetrators of the murder have not yet been identified by judicial authorities.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the murder case of Ata’u’llah Rezvani, a Baha’i citizen of Bandar Abbas, has been referred to Branch 6 of the Public and Revolutionary court of the Prosecutor’s Office in Bandar Abbas for retrial, eight years after the incident took place.

Ata’u’llah Rezvani disappeared on the night of 24th August, 2013, and his lifeless body was discovered by passers-by at noon on the 25^th of August, in one of the deserts around Bandar Abbas. Due to the victim’s belief in the Baha’i faith and his record of social activities in Bandar Abbas, as well as the sporadic clashes that he had had with some influential institutions in the city, such as the office of the Friday Prayer Leader in Bandar Abbas, from the first hours of the new of his murder, suspicion was directed toward the intelligence and security agencies from the beginning.

However, after years of repeated follow-ups and inquiries by the Baha’i citizen’s lawyers and family, his murder case was suspiciously unsuccessful, facing sabotage and judicial delay, and the perpetrator or perpetrators of his murder have not been identified by judicial authorities.

According to the police, Ata’u’llah Rezvani’s body was inside his car when it was discovered, with a bullet in the head area, which had came out the other side. Initial investigations did not reveal any burglary of the victim or his car, but the victim’s cell phone was not with the body or inside the car; it is possible that it was stolen by the killer or perpetrators. According to the evidence, the murder must have taken place outside Mr. Rezvani’s car, and the body transferred to the car.

Three months after the assassination of Ata’u’llah Rezvani, in November of 2013, HRANA published a report analyzing the murder of this Baha’i citizen by Dr. Aria Haghgou, a lawyer and law scholar.