Milad Armon, a 26-year-old young man and one of the six defendants in the Ekbatan case, has been sentenced to execution by Branch 13 of the Criminal Court of Tehran Province on charges of participation in premeditated murder.
This ruling was issued despite the opposition of the presiding judge, with only two of the court’s advisers signing the verdict, while the chief judge of Branch 13 explicitly rejected the sentence and issued a minority opinion against it.
The only basis for Milad Armon’s conviction is forced confessions obtained under severe torture by security forces. He has repeatedly denied these confessions before judicial authorities, and even the presiding judge of the court has confirmed that there is no evidence supporting their validity.
The allegation of using a knife was also based on unverified initial claims made at the time of his arrest, as well as coerced testimonies from other defendants. However, some of the defendants have denied that Milad Armon ever possessed or used a knife. Moreover, according to legal principles, testimonies from co-defendants against one another cannot be considered valid evidence for issuing a verdict.
A thorough review of the case documents shows no evidence linking Milad Armon to the murder of Arman Aliwardi. This critical fact is explicitly mentioned in the minority opinion of the chief judge of Branch 13 of the Criminal Court.
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