The incredible story of plain clerk Hamid Noury: in prison for life in NATO-wanting Sweden

The good guys are on one side. They have been telling us and letting us know it all along: Ahmadreza Djalali, the Iranian doctor and researcher born in Sarāb - in the East Azerbaijan region - but naturalized Swedish (1), a full two years after he began his detention, accused by his own country of being an Israeli spy and then sentenced to death, for a sentence that has yet to be carried out, is a well-known and supported case not only in Sweden and Italy where he worked, but in the entire West. From Amnesty International (2) to the mainstream media: the Djalali case is one of the overwhelming counter-evidence provided by the conduct of the oppressive Iranian regime and traitor to freedom and human rights. And Sweden, the democratic beacon of advanced peoples, from the deep north enlightens justice and grants citizenship by demanding freedom: so for about six years, a brand new European citizen has been unjustly detained in the cramped prisons of such a distant, dark and dictatorial Muslim world.

In that very multiethnic, multicultural and tolerant Sweden that in the summer of 2023 let Qurans burn in the square in front of Mosques, the cause of protests and uprisings in the entire Middle East, Iraqi activist, holy book arsonist, Salwan Momika was later found to be linked to Mossad (3). 

A Sweden eager to finally join NATO, at least these prove to be the plans of those who want it in the Atlantic Alliance from next July. The price for Turkey's binding yes is tied to many things, including congressional approval in Washington of the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara (4).

While "U.S. lawmakers have blocked the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until it signs Sweden's membership." (5)

So a very cold Stockholm, yes, like every winter, but geopolitically torrid for years: the unipolar horizon is at risk and other powers are taking off, between the Gordian knots of Kiev and Tel Aviv, while the Islamic world is welding around the Palestinian tragedy.

In this new hybrid but rather solid and bloody war, in the absolute silence of the media, now enters the scene "the villain" of our history (at least according to those who sentenced him to life in prison). We are talking about a person who once worked, like many other employees, in Tehran's Evin prison: Hamid Noury.

And what is he doing in Sweden? He was arrested, on November 9, 2019, as soon as he got off the plane well over three years after "the good guy" in our story, compatriot Ahmadreza Djalali, in contrast to Noury, who is so famous and media-savvy.

Under current law, both Swedish and foreign nationals can be tried for crimes against international law, even if committed abroad. It even appears that the arrest order came while Nouri was not yet in Sweden; once he landed, he was immediately charged with helping to carry out death sentences in the 1980s against what the West now considers "the good guys," but for Iran are the MEK (6) terrorists (the Iranian People's Mojahedin, an outlawed party for Tehran) who have killed more than 17,000 Iranians since 1981 (7), while Hamid Noury was just an employee. On Dec. 19, 2023, an appeals court upheld his life sentence: murder and serious crimes against international law (8).

In the general silence, there is no Amnesty International in front of his cell, no civil rights movement, no notebooks and cameras of the big democratic media. Moreover, Noury is condemned not only by Swedish justice, but perhaps also by the hostility of a certain Western world that, indifferent, distrusts: because it wants only reassuring and chosen good heroes.

"This unjust and outrageous sentence does not end Iran's diplomatic efforts to repatriate and free this Iranian citizen, and we will use all legal and available means," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, as reported by Reuters news agency, it was Christmas Day 2023 (9). And then there goes a spokesman for the Swedish Foreign Ministry, "The situation of Ahmadreza Djalali is continuously raised by high-level representatives of Iran. Sweden has long called for the death penalty not to be carried out." Amnesty International adds: "Djalali could be put to death in retaliation after a Swedish court upheld on appeal the life sentence of former prison executive Hamid Noury for his role in the 1988 prison massacre. It is feared that Iranian authorities are holding Djalali hostage in order to induce Sweden to exchange prisoners." (10)

From what we know, in Iran, lawyers for the "good" Djalali have had attention and public meetings with the media. In Sweden, the lawyers for the "bad" Noury have never had that opportunity.

And so we feel it is only fair to give voice to those who - in our neck of the woods - have no voice. Above all, to try to get out of the propaganda theater, where there are always and only good and bad teachers; trying to overcome prejudices and to tear through that deafening silence that too often erases Man, for the exclusive benefit of reason of state, against all sentiment and sense of earthly justice.

For this reason, too, we contacted-through his lawyers-Hamid Noury: he is currently in the Kronoberg detention center in Stockholm. With him is lawyer Heybatollah Najandimanesh, also a professor of international law at Allameh Tabataba'i University in Tehran.

Mr. Noury, first of all, how are you?

Thank you for asking me and for being willing to listen to my words. As other people routinely say, I am fine. I am here in solitary confinement. It's about four years and two months now. I am on a very restrictive regimen. Every moment that passes, for me, means being I am subjected to torture, especially mental torture. I mean there is white torture against me. There are no wounds on my body, but my soul and mind are destroyed. Here in my cell, they destroyed my defense documentation: they deleted all the files on my tablet. So, I was unable to present my story to my defense at the appeal stage. They also denuded me. They do this to insult and dehumanize me. Specifically, they do this after every visit. At the very least, once a week. I am a Muslim. For my culture and religion, it is not good for a man or woman to be seen naked by others.

My world is summed up in my solitary confinement. I have no connection with the world outside my cell. There is a television but it only broadcasts in Swedish. I cannot understand anything. I cannot call my family members. The last time I talked to my wife was November 10, 2023. After my arrest on November 9, 2019, this is the first time a journalist has come in contact with me and asked me for information.
 
Mr. Noury, how do you judge this sentence?

I have not yet received the sentence in my language, Farsi. I have only listened to the summary of the ruling issued on December 19 by the judge. I do not agree with it. It is a politically motivated ruling. My trial, both in court and on appeal, was a farce. It was obvious to me that they were going to uphold the verdict of the trial. I was not given the opportunity to defend myself. My defense could not be authentic.

Prof. Najandimanesh, as your lawyer but also as a jurist in international law, how do you view the December 19, 2023 verdict against Hamid Noury?

I have read both the trial verdict and the appeal verdict. They are affected by blatant violations of substantive and procedural law. First, both courts did not address the questions of law authentically. The judges, in my opinion, are not familiar with international law.

Therefore, they misunderstood general jurisdiction. Second, the verdicts do not argue adequately to prove the charges. Third, the defense raised good arguments for abuse of due process. The judges did not address this issue.

Third, the defense raised good arguments for abuse of due process. The judges did not address this.
Those who testified simply presented their recollections to the prosecutor. It is very unfair for someone to be convicted solely on the basis of what the complainants say. The prosecutor has an obligation to conduct objective, complete and impartial investigations. Perhaps you have heard of a trial related to a Rwandan citizen in Sweden. In that case, there was a mutual legal assistance agreement between the two governments involved. There was also the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), established by the United Nations Security Council. So, the tribunal investigated his alleged crimes

•  in Rwanda. The Swedish police used the findings of the ICTR. What about Iran? There was/is no judicial assistance agreement between Iran and Sweden. There was no international tribunal for the allegations reported in Iran. Swedish prosecutors and courts violated the principle of innocence.

  Prof. Najandimanesh, who is Hamid Noury really and why is he in a Swedish prison?
   
  Hamid Noury is an Iranian citizen. In the 1980s, he worked as a clerk in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. Thereafter, he was engaged in the private sector and has not held any public employment.
  He is a victim of a political situation. He was invited to come to Sweden by a relative. Little did he know that there was a trap set for him. The Swedish prosecutor was misused by some people wanted by the Iranian police for terrorist acts.
  He was wrongfully tried and sentenced to life in prison.
  During the dates considered by the prosecution, there was no trial in which Mr. Noury could be convicted for violation of due process requirements. Mr. Noury stated that there have been terrorist acts against the Iranian people since 1981. Most of these terrorists have been arrested and tried by the competent courts. From the beginning, pardon committees were established. Their mandate was to ask convicted persons, including those who had been sentenced to the death penalty, whether they repented of their past and condemned the terrorist acts and groups. If they agreed to be good citizens and condemn terrorism, they would be pardoned even if sentenced to the death penalty. Mr. Noury's defense presented the verdicts of people who were sentenced to death but were later pardoned. They no longer live in Iran but outside Iran. Some of them were also among the prosecution's witnesses. At the time, Mr. Noury was working in the prison. The complainants made up a story that the prosecutors did not investigate. The courts also presumed that Mr. Noury was a criminal. And now he has to prove that he is innocent.

  Mr. Noury, can you tell us very briefly your version of events?

  I am here in custody as a hostage. The Swedish government took me as a hostage for an Iranian-Swedish man. This man was arrested in Iran for espionage. I was arrested on November 19, 2019. The prosecutor ordered the arrest warrant on November 8, while I was not on the territory of Sweden.
  I was charged for the alleged events in Iran in 1988. I was sentenced to life in prison only on the basis of oral statements and recollections of the complainants and witnesses who are part of the case. The prosecutor did not conduct any investigation in Iran.

  The court sentenced me because there is no judicial cooperation agreement between Iran and Sweden. The court has to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

  There is nothing about Sweden. Some people carried out terrorist acts in the 1980s in Iran. They killed about 17,000 Iranian people. They belonged to a group that was labeled terrorist by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other states. Some of these people have been arrested and tried by the competent Iranian courts. The Swedish government is defending terrorists. While the government has an obligation not to harbor and support terrorists. As I told you, these people have not only been called terrorists by Iran, but at the time also by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and others.

  I ask you to research whether there was a trial in Iran during the period covered by the indictment against me.

  I worked in the Iranian prison system in the 1980s. I was not a judge. I was not a prosecutor. I was not an assistant prosecutor. Now I am here in solitary confinement because Sweden needed a hostage to pressure the Iranian government.

  Prof. Najandimanesh, what weight does the political issue of Western hostility to Iran and the Muslim world have in the Noury case?

  In my view, this case is mainly politically motivated. The subject of the case and the allegations are political in nature.

  Mr. Noury, do you feel like a political detainee?

  My case began as a political case. It continues to be a political case. And it will remain political. It is part of the West's political campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran. I am sorry to say that the West, including Sweden, is using the justice system as a mechanism to gain political gains. They even sacrifice justice for political gains. If you read the trial ruling on my case, you will read that the case was initiated in 2010 in Oxford, UK.
   
  Mr. Noury, how do you assess the justice system of a 'democratic' country like Sweden?

  I think the question is wrong. I cannot describe Sweden as a free and democratic government. If it is, it is only for Swedes and not for other people. I can say it is racist. The context also shows that. They don't believe in democracy. The best proof is my case. They tried me under the worst conditions. They convicted me only on the basis of the allegations made by the complainants. They have not fulfilled the commitments made in the European Convention on Human Rights. My trial is just a show. They themselves prepared the indictment. They appointed the defense. They accepted the oral and written pleadings of the plaintiffs. They heard the witnesses who in principle were the plaintiffs. They did not allow me to testify. Finally, they convicted me. What do you call this?

  Prof. Najandimanesh, as a jurist, what is your assessment of the Swedish judicial and penal system?

  In light of the case in question in which I was involved, I can say that there are great deficiencies in the Swedish judicial and penal system. I think there is a weak position for the principle of innocence in this system. They kept Mr. Noury in custody for more than a year to formulate the indictment. It is dangerous if the police detain people in custody and then try to gather so-called evidence against them. Another shortcoming is that the system does not take into account the actual defense of the accused or even his defense.
  The detainee has no contact with his family. The authorities do not meet, for his case, the standards of treatment with detainees.
  Comparing the conduct of the Swedish judicial system with the standards adopted under human rights legislation, I believe that, in this case, these standards are used only against detainees. In my opinion, these standards are only used against non-Western countries as a means to promote their politics. We lawyers have to worry about the standards.

  Mr. Noury, what is your daily life like in prison?

  I am in a very bad condition. Every morning I wake up and start thinking about how to spend the day. It is night again and I think about how to sleep until morning. I am disconnected from the outside world. My family is in Iran. It is very expensive and difficult for them to come here. Even if they come, sometimes they are not allowed to visit me.

  In Iran I have my grandchildren. I have my mother. I miss all my family. They are not able to visit me. I am 62 years old. I was responsible and duties towards my family, which depended on me. As I write this, I am crying for my mother.

  Prof. Najandimanesh, what are your next legal moves?

   There is a national remedy: the Swedish Supreme Court. Mr. Noury will apply. It is up to the court to decide whether to grant permission to appeal.
  There is also a regional remedy: the European Court of Human Rights. But this court deals only with the alleged violation of due process.

  Mr. Noury, we know that there are mobilizations in both Iran and Sweden for your case to be treated differently and reviewed. Do you have a message for those who are trying to help you and are following your case?

  I ask people to stand up for due process. Do not allow governments, including Sweden's, to abuse the process. The EU must monitor the behavior of its members. It sees the nail in distant countries, but it does not see the knife in the hand of its members.
  There is a lot of information against me on the web and in other media. This is the hegemony of the media. I ask journalists to seek the truth. I am the protagonist of the trial here in Sweden, but nobody asks me anything. Nobody listens to me. The only one who cannot defend himself against all this propaganda is Hamid Noury. I am the victim of an unfair trial in a country that is an important member of the EU.

  Prof. Najandimanesh, in summary, why should a Swedish - and European - citizen care about Hamid Noury's case?

  It is very important for everyone to care about justice. But this should not be an excuse to violate human rights. We all support the right of defense of anyone who claims to be a victim of a human rights violation. We must respect it according to the standards of human rights law. Swedish and European citizens must watch over the values and standards adopted in the European Convention on Human Rights and other standards. If they do not monitor and guard these values, they themselves will be the next victims. Mr. Noury is a victim of the abuse of due process. All concerned citizens must engage. I am not saying that Mr. Noury should not be tried. I just want to say-and write this in big letters-that his trial MUST BE IMPARTIAL.

  Mr. Noury, your situation seems very much related to lack of information: too many, too many people do not know about your case. What do you want to say to the Swedish people and, more generally, to the peoples of Europe and why should they care about a prisoner like you?

  I ask them to listen to me. To not judge me. I ask them to review my trial like reasonable people. There was no fair trial for me.
  I want to ask Swedes and European citizens: are you paying your taxes to the government to support terrorism? To violate due process requirements?
  My message is: I am a victim of trumped-up charges and political propaganda. I am a guilty

 person because I love my country and my state.

I expect the independent journalist to come and listen to me. Do not discriminate against me.

–

By Jacopo Brogi, ComeDonChisciotte.org

Source: www.comedonchisciotte.org

15.01.2024

Jacopo Brogi Freelance photojournalist, editorialist and author, documentary filmmaker United Photo Press member. He write for ComeDonChisciotte.org, Sovranità Popolare. Laboratory Greece (2019), his first documentary, was released in cinemas in Greece on 8 December 2019 followed by the releases on internet before for Italy and after in English version.

NOTE

1. https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/topnews/2018/02/20/iran-svezia-da-cittadinanza-a-djalali_42482aa2-999c-437e-9312-ea64eb4dd298.html

2. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/5698/2022/en/

3. https://en.irna.ir/news/85180920/Iran-releases-documents-about-Salwan-Momika-s-links-to-Zionist

4. https://tass.com/world/1729551  

5. https://www.reuters.com/world/turkey-says-it-discussed-gaza-swedens-nato-accession-with-blinken-2024-01-06/  

6. https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/iran-chi-sono-i-mojaheddin-e-khalq-i-radicali-sostenuti-dai-falchi-usa-21065

7. https://comedonchisciotte.org/il-parlamento-italiano-ospita-terroristi-e-liran-convoca-lambasciatore/

8.  https://www.reuters.com/world/swedish-court-upholds-guilty-verdict-iran-executions-case-2023-12-19/   

9. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-says-swedish-court-ruling-against-ex-official-unjust-seek-his-release-2023-12-25/

10. https://www.amnesty.it/appelli/iran-ricercatore-universitario-rischia-la-pena-morte/