Elnaz Babazadeh

Elnaz Babazadeh - الناز بابارده

According to HRANA, three members of the Basij militia misused their ID cards in the city of Tabriz to abduct, beat, assault, rape, and kill a young woman with a gun. They dumped her body in the outskirts of the city. The news has stirred a lot of emotional reactions from the public. (The report is from July 11, 2010)

Based on information obtained by HRANA reporters, after Elnaz Babazadeh went missing, her family reported the disappearance to all official Iranian government agencies. After a week-long search, her body was delivered to the family by the coroner’s office while the coroner, after examining the body, confirmed assault, battery, rape,and murder by shooting. The police announced that the body was discovered near Emamieh Cemetery in Tabriz.

After the family filed a complaint against the murder of their daughter [demanding to press charges], the police arrested three citizens from Tabriz who are active members of the Basij [militia]. The main suspect and defendant confessed to all the above-mentioned charges in the police station. The defendant stated he entered the vehicle of the young woman in Tabriz’s Valiasr neighbourhood under the pretext of “*ordering to what is known to be virtuous”, and to give a notice to the young woman for “bad hijab”, in the context of the hijab and chastity program undertaken by the police and the Basij forces. The defendant then used his firearm to threaten the woman. The police forced her to drive to the outskirts of the city. That is where they raped her. Then, she died from three gun shots to the chest.

It is reported that the main suspect of the case is currently held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) due to the sensitivity of the issues involved.

*It is an Islamic obligation that requires everyone to invite people to do the right thing. It is used by the Taliban, the government of Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian Islamic regime to justify interference with various aspects of the lives of citizens; for example, the way they dress, their involvement in intimate relationships, and private gatherings they hold.

Sources: In Persian, in English.