Two More People Receive Death Penalty For ‘Economic Crimes’

Radiofarda – Two men accused of “conducting organized and systematic disruption” in Iran’s banking network have been condemned to death and others sentenced to prison terms, judicial sources were quoted as saying on Tuesday, November 6.

Dariush Ebrahimian Bilandi and Youniss Bahaoddini are also charged in the southern Fars Province with pocketing more than 150 trillion rials (roughly $36 million) through their orchestrated plan against the banking and economic network of the country.

The verdict was issued by the “Special Court for Combatting Economic Corruption”, Judiciary’s Mizan news website reported.

Based on the same verdict, Mohammad Bahaoddini and Davood Katebi have also been sentenced to ten and seven years imprisonment respectively, while Iman Pahlavani, Morteza Katebinejad and Reza Nader were sentenced to five-year prison terms.

As Iran’s economy is facing serious crisis this year, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called in June to “confront those who disrupt economic security” and called for the establishment of “special courts” to deal quickly with “financial crimes”.

Based on Khamenei’s edict, the verdicts of the so-called Special Courts, save death penalty sentences, are final and legally binding.

Several legal analysts and lawyers have since insisted that eliminating the right to appeal is explicitly against the constitution.

Nevertheless, an unknown number of people involved in buying and selling gold coins and forex have been sentenced to death by the newly formed courts, so far.

Already, the death verdicts against two of them, Wahid Mazloomin and Mohammad Esma’eil Qassemi have been upheld by the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Court.

Many have argued that security approach in combatting “economic corruption” may be effective in the short term, but it will lose its impact in the long run.

Iran’s economy had been struggling even before President Donald Trump’s decision in May to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions. Most notably, the value of Iran’s national currency, the rial, has plummeted against the dollar.