Behind the Murder of Iran's Former Head of Legal Medicine Organization in Saadatabad

The investigation into the murder of an anesthesiologist and former head of Iran's Legal Medicine Organization began on the morning of 30 Mordad 1401 (August 21, 2022), when police responded to reports of the killing of an elderly man in Tehran's Saadatabad neighborhood and found his blood-soaked body in front of his villa.

Jam Jam newspaper wrote: The second court session in the case of the murder of Dr. Ali Mahfovi, an anesthesiologist and former head of the country's Forensic Medicine Organization, was held with 3 defendants, while the main defendant gave the details of the murder and its plan, and the other two denied their accusations.

The investigation into the case of the murder of the anesthesiologist and the former head of the country's forensic medicine organization began on the morning of August 30, 1401; The day when the police officers went to the scene of the incident with a report of the murder of an elderly man in Saadat Abad neighborhood of Tehran and found his bloody body in front of his villa.

Preliminary investigations showed that the victim was shot by an unknown man while leaving the house. Investigations reached a rich engineer who had a financial dispute with the victim (Bahman). Later, it was found that 2 other men were also involved in this case and all three accused were arrested.

After completing the investigation and issuing the indictment, the case was sent to the fifth branch of the criminal court of Tehran province for consideration.

In the first court session, after the reading of the indictment, the parents of Dem took the stand and demanded revenge for the murderer. Then the first accused (Parviz) stood on the stand and confessed to the murder.

He said that he met Bahman through the third accused (Hamid) and because of his financial problems and criminal record, he accepted the offer of murder.

He explained: Bahman provided me with money and weapons. I was supposed to get 200 million tomans for murder.

In the following, Bahman denied the accusation of being an accomplice in the murder and said that he never asked Parvez to commit the murder.

The third accused (Saeed) also said that he introduced Parvez to Bahman for work, and when introducing him, there was no mention of murder, and he claimed that he was unaware of the murder plan.

Referring to the completion of the investigation of another person related to the case, Bahman's lawyer considered this issue to be one of the flaws of the investigation and said that examining his statements could help clarify the matter. According to the objection raised, the judges of the court postponed the continuation of the case to another meeting.

Tracking the homicide deputy with his cell phone

Yesterday, the second trial session was held, and the lawyers of Dem's parents announced that the defects raised in the court have not been resolved.

One of them said: Bahman went to Tarem the day before the murder and left his phone there so as not to leave a trace. Parvez did not have a problem or enmity with Mahfouz to commit murder. We request that Bahman be sentenced to the harshest punishment (25 years in prison) if he is found guilty of being an accomplice in the murder.

Details of the plan and murder from the main accused

Then Parvez stood on the stand and accepted his accusation and said: I killed Mahfozi by shooting 2 bullets. I was friends with Saeed and we were supposed to go to Tarem and get a certificate there through his acquaintance. That day, we went to a restaurant for lunch where Bahman was also there, and when he found out that I was unemployed, he claimed that he had a job for me.

He continued: I called him a few days later and we dated several times. He gave me a 2 magazine holster and claimed that it was an honorable matter and that he would pay me well if I did it. He even took me in front of the doctor's house and pointed to the olive tree in front of the house and said that I brought this tree to the doctor. Every time I went to the meeting place with Bahman, Saeed was with me.

The accused said: Bahman and Saeed had given me a drink that I could do anything by drinking. On the day of the incident, Saeed took me to Azadi Square and I went in front of the doctor's house. Bahman wanted me to steal the doctor's wallet and phones, but after the murder, I couldn't and ran away.

The judge asked: Why did you do this before you got the money? which Parviz claimed: because of the fear of avalanche. He had threatened my wife and child.

The defendant's lawyer, in his defense, requested that the parents of his client forgive him.

When Bahman stood on the stand, rejecting the accusation of being a deputy in the murder, he said: "If I had a role in this incident, I should have called Parvez with a number, while no call from me was recorded." The accused said that I was wearing a hat in order not to be recognized. If this was true, I should have hidden the license plate first.

The head of the court asked: "How did you know the accused in the first row?", to which the accused replied: "My fish fishery is in Taram, next to the restaurant where I saw Saeed and Parvez." I had no contact with Parviz, and when Saeed found out that I was planning to sell my car, he took a picture of it and brought me a customer twice in Tehran.

The head of the court asked: If you did not have a dispute with the victim, then how did his wife know about your dispute? Wasn't it about work matters and getting an organizational house?

Bahman said: We had a business dispute, but it was not serious. I left the institutional home several times and the doctor said to come back again. I had no disagreement with him.

Saeed was the third defendant who defended himself and said: I did not know about the murder of the doctor. I didn't even know that Dr. Bahman was fired. Bahman had said that he wanted to put someone in a wheelchair. If I knew he was planning to kill, I would have stopped him.

The head of the court asked: Why did you take Parviz to Azadi Square on the day of the incident? Saeed said: He said that his mother is sick and he asked me to give him my car, which I refused and I drove him to Azadi Square.

After the defense of the defendants and their lawyers, the judges went into a frenzy to make a decision.