12 Iranian Thugs Executed – an unfair report
There was a post in Mideastyouth about some executed thugs in Iran. Indeed, a very one sided report of the event it was. Here is another view of the whole event. Which report is more accurate? Probably none! Here you can see a different view, and finally, choice is yours. Note that I’m not here to support executing of them, but that post depicted the event as “executing some people whose punishment was much excessive, not comparable to their crimes” which was far away from the truth.
Since few months ago, IR Police (NAJA) enforced a series of missions, which were first known as ‘Hijab Crackdown’, but it was not limited to Hijab issue.
Another phase of those missions was dedicated to capturing some local criminals. Everybody who has an experience of living in some certain districts in large (or even small) cities of Iran, for sure has heard of (or even encountered -god forbid) these Local Criminals, called ‘Lat’. its enough to know that some of those executed ones, most of them Lat, had up to 10 rapes in their rich files, in addition to theft, beating, threatening, etc.
Note that these local criminals don’t work as single ones, but work as a local group. There is a very well designed hierarchical system in each group: a leader called ‘Gonde Lat’ (Major Lat) at the top, and many minor Lat who follow the orders of the leader. The final aim of each minor is to become a major and form his own group. Minors and Majors usually carry very big knives called Qameh with themselves, and do not hesitate to attack others if they can/please.
Many young boys and girls were raped by these groups, and the victim or his/her family did not dare to report the case to the police, for the group threatened them to do worse to them.
Therefore, it is very unfair to label them as “socially and economically marginalized people who are mostly derived from poor classes and confront all unfair aspects of the society”, for these words obscure the truth. I think that capital punishment was a fair penalty for some of them, even if they were brought to court in for example US in front of a jury.
The other uneven statement in that post was this: “Even if these executed 12 Iranians were thugs, they are the products of the 29 year policies of the Islamic regime.” Such criminals, either as single doers or as groups, are not special to Iran. In addition, one may study the development and historical roots of such groups and find out that they existed even too many years before the establishment of IR.
If one is devoted to opposing IR, its better to avoid telling lies or ignoring facts on the ground: this is the very same mistake that IR propaganda system does when it comes to oppose US, Israel or anything else.
I think if the writer were eager to oppose those executions, he would better take the position of Abazari (a famous Iranian sociologist, assistant professor in Tehran University) who didn’t deny the fact that executed ones were really criminals, but opposed such crackdowns for “these kinds of reactions wont solve the social causes which made these criminals. many countries have had the same experience: after such activities, the very social patterns under which these criminals came to existence will not disappear, therefore these kinds of criminals will be reproduced, and as a consequence of these crackdowns, criminals in their next advent will turn from single-cells/groups to networks-of-criminals, called Mafia. In that case, Police won’t be able to do a thing to them.” (from his statements in a seminar in Tehran university).
Abazari added an example of our own country: “many years ago, such crackdowns were used against prostitution. after a while, prostitutes (due to demand and supply rule) got reproduced, formed networks, and now you may even find some underground agencies in Tehran which provide girls for their customers by a single phone call, while Police is not able to do anything because these networks have become so strong.”

Join the Conversation
According to some opposition sources, at least 3 of the recent executed “lats” were executed because of their political engagements.
Judicially, the executions had no concrete penal evidence; there was neither bill of indictment nor lawyer for the “accused”.
True, “Lats” belong to any society and any time, but through the factors I developed in my article, the pheromone has been considerably aggravated under the IRI.
To Mohammad M. (Iran):
If you aware of IRI’s police barbaric behavior in the raid so you should know how they treat people in government places? Physical and mental tortures are their best behaviors. Like what they did with students. Even if you accused for a crime, they will beat you to death to confess! I remember two polices asked me to show them my bag and I request their ID cards; they physically assault and beat me. I wasn’t an exception.
So what do you think these kinds of behaviors will create in our society after 28 years? Thugs are the product of this regime whether you like it or not. Society is a reflection of government.
Just take a look what they did in public then think about what do they do to people in their private!
IRI’s police barbaric raid
The Iranian police wear ski masks?
Jahanshah:
I didnt see any scientific reference in ur post about the case of Lats, turned from bad to worse in post-revolution Iran. Elders believe otherwise.
+1: you know very well that victims do not come to courts to fill a law suit against them, for their friends are still around. a friend of mine in Tehran said that for 4 days police members begged family of a victim to come and bear witness, but they refused, though everybody in that strict knew the sad story of their daughter. in this case, Knowledge of Judge… yeah it is enough. suppose you were the victim…. would you say the same?
To Grumpy:
It looks face mask to me like this one
Please! playing vicitm role doesn’t help to justify your argument.
This video talks for itself. it is how they treat people in public and we are sure they torture people in the most barbaric way in their private.
Islamic police
Also if victim has no willing to testify is because:
1. They don’t trust IRI’s police.
2. Law is not strong enough to protect them.
3. Judiciary system are corrupted and judges too.
4. Judges are literate in. most of them are Mullahs and they have got positions through Islamic centers and their networks.
Fariborz:
your presumption that “every act they do is corrupt” is corrupt.
I think everybody, even those who has never been to Iran, can understand the situation: it happense in every society. these groups are very similar to Mafia, with regards to their behavior, if not their scale.
to me, its clear why some of the families may refuse to bear witness: cuz of their fear of the rest of the elements of a group, which wont be either executed or prisoned.
Thank you, Fariborz. I realize this is off-topic, but could you explain why the IRI police mask their faces?
I should correct my old post. I wanted to write
4. Judges are illiterate!
honesty I guess almost %95 of judges in Iran are appointed in their position!
To Grumpy:
Thanks. It’s a good question. IRI police usually don’t put masks on but some of them who don’t want to identify by people use masks.
Black outfit is kinda new they usually use green outfit. We know whenever they use black outfit they want to scare off people and commit illegal acts towards people.
Here I provide you some pictures with different IRI police outfits.
picture 1
picture 2
picture 3
picture 4
picture 5
Also unfortunatley they use to put on civilian clothes while on duty to avoid being identified as police or security (Plainclothes)
To Mohammad:
First of all, you brought this assumption up! I don’t have such assumptions at all. I love Iran but I never ever stand any activity that violates human rights in Iran. I don’t care that IRI justifies their crimes with Islamic rules which I don’t give a damn to Islam and any rules which suggests barbaric and cruelty towards humankind.
Second, These people were not groups! they were just individual criminals.
Third, Mafia is an organized criminal secret society not just some individual criminals! If even they were a little bit similar to Mafia, after first person of them got caught, second person should run away! Not getting caught by Police right after first one! and third nad fourth person! if even you noticed their pictures some of them were on drugs and they couldn’t move! And you call it similar to Mafia?!! Obviously they are not even close to Mafia.
Fourth, Mafia in Iran unfortunately comes from government and militants.
They are smuggling almost everything from arms to drugs. Even noticed that you can buy drug everywhere in Iran?! Militants have smuggled lots of prohibited products to IRI and sold them! Now after 3 years some of them have a file in court! But who cares? Nobody can touch them they are above law in IRI.
Where have you been?
Fifth, even in other societies when victims won’t stand a witness it doesn’t mean they just afraid to come forward because of their fear of criminals; unlikely it means they don’t trust to law enforcement and law isn’t strong enough to support them. Wherever law enforcement is trustable and strong enough and social system support victims, they have not delayed to step up and talk!
Fariborz Shamshiri
Fariborz;
1st: Mafia is a network of groups. these people work as groups. as Abazari said, they will turn to networks of groups. I used this term ‘Mafia’just to make those who dont have a grasp of Iran’s society and dynamics more familiar with the case.
2nd: yeah, you are true. some progrmas like ‘witness support’ should be on agenda here in Iran: to support the witness, bring him somewhere unknown, and provide him with enough resources to make his lifetime, even sometimes under a fake name.
3rd: a police commander said that they couldnt run away cuz for a couple of months they (police) were working on the case.
4th: if you are asleep, let me squeeze you. but if you are pretending to be asleep…. no one can make you awake.
As far as I can tell there are only two reasons for police to mask themselves.
1) The society is so violently out of control that your family will be killed if it is discovered that you are with the police.
2) Even though you’re a cop, what you are doing is a crime.
So, In the IRI is it #1, #2, or is there a third reason that I overlooked?
Grumpy:
is the second one, as I wrote they don’t want to identify because they already know they are commiting crime.
Also there’s another theory that most of masked cops are not Iranians so they don’t want to reveal their nationality too.
Mohammad
Iranian Police behaviour towards people are known to people! so just don’t fraustrated yourself to prove something else.