Students Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi’s Forced Televised Confessions: Groundwork for Heavy Sentences

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 24, 2021: Iran Human Rights expresses its grave concern again of the impending heavy and baseless sentences against Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi, two elite Sharif University students who have been held in pre-trial detention since their arrests on 10 April 2020, after their forced confessions were aired by state media.

Iran Human Rights previously warned of Ali and Amirhossein being under duress to force self-incriminating televised confessions. Given the Islamic Republic’s long history of obtaining false confessions under torture, Iran Human Rights calls on the international community to respond appropriately to the airing of their forced confessions to ensure their human rights are not further breached and prevent heavy sentences being handed down to them.

“Airing forced confessions in the pre-trial phase is a clear breach of their right to a fair trial. The confessions which were obtained under duress and torture lack all legal validity, and were aired to prepare public opinion for the likely heavy sentences against them,” said Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

He further added: “We call on the international community to respond in an appropriate and timely manner and use any talks with Islamic Republic officials to ensure Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi are guaranteed fair trials and prevent heavy sentences based on forced confessions being handed down.”

In April, Ali Younesi’s former cellmate, Mojtaba Hosseini told Iran Human Rights that both students were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in order to force false televised confessions and that the forced confession filming sessions sometimes lasted all night and did not end until the scripts were read in the exact tone and manner the interrogators were looking for.