Mohammad Hosseini (L) and Mohammad-Mehdi Karami
Lawyers of two young protesters hanged Saturday in Iran say the judiciary executed them so hastily that there was no chance for legal follow-up on their cases.
Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, Mohammad Hosseini's lawyer, published a photo of a request for retrial, saying the execution of his client was "unjust".
“Considering the call for appeal and submission of documents, including harassment of my client to extract a confession and documents regarding his mental illness, carrying out the sentence was unjust,” he added in a tweet.
Sharifzadeh said that a day after the verdict’s confirmation, he filed a request for retrial, but officials turned down his request.
Mohammad Aghasi, the lawyer of Mohammad-Mehdi Karami, also said in an interview that “They executed my client so quickly that they didn't even give him a chance to write a petition for retrial.”
Both lawyers were not allowed to defend their clients in court, as Iran’s judiciary only recognizes those attorneys that it selects and appoints to political cases.
Aghasi pointed out that the Supreme Court also failed, because the sentences should have been overturned when the defendants did not have a lawyer of their choice.
Based on the statements of the defendants and their lawyers these two protesters were tortured physically and mentally to extract confessions, a common practice by Islamic Republic officials.
Despite public anger over the executions, the judiciary continues to issue death sentences and exerts pressure on hundreds of imprisoned protesters and their families.