Mohammed Bijeh
Mohammed Bijeh (Persian: محمد بيجه) was an Iranian serial killer. He was convicted of raping and killing 41 young boys between March 2002 and September 2004, and was sentenced to 100 lashes followed by execution. All the boys were between 8 to 15 years old. Additionally, he killed two adults.[2] The murder of children around Tehran was recognized as the largest criminal case in Iran for the last 71 years, and strongly influenced public opinion in the country.[3][4]
Mohammed Bijeh | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | 16 March 2005 (aged 30) Pakdasht, Iran |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 43+ |
Span of crimes | March 2002–September 2004 |
| Country | Iran |
| State(s) | Pakdasht |
Biography
Muhammad Basjee, known as Bijeh, was born into a crowded family; he had six brothers and six half-brothers. When he was four years old, his mother died of cancer. His father was a merchant who married immediately after the death of Bijeh’s mother. Bijeh couldn't remember his mother and said that his father was a barbaric person who beat him and chained his legs during childhood.
His father forced him to abandon school and work. He was 11 when he moved to Khatunabad with his family, where he began working at a furnace. Around then, he was raped multiple times.
Motivation
He admitted that he had been raped and wanted to take revenge on the community, and that he suffered from his mother's early death and the lack of affection he suffered in childhood.[3] Bijeh commented on his main motive for the murders: "I suffered cruely from childhood, and when I compared my life with others, I had to commit such acts."[5]
Victims
Full list of Bijeh's victims:
| Number | Name | Sex | Age | Date of Murder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ibrahim Shabani | M | 10 | 25 March 2002 | |
| 2 | Behnam Jafari | M | 13 | 17 April 2002 | |
| 3 | Peyman Panah Mohammedi | M | 9 | 22 May 2002 | |
| 4 | Hamid Reza Dosetmohmmedi | M | 15 | 27 July 2002 | |
| 5 | Mohsen Torab Zadeh | M | 17 | 18 August 2002 | |
| 6 | Abbas Reyhani | M | 11 | 17 September 2002 | |
| 7 | Massuod Khoshmaram | M | 7 | 19 October 2002 | |
| 8 | Ali Moezi | M | 13 | 22 February 2003 | |
| 9 | Milad Tahani | M | 12 | 18 March 2003 | |
| 10 | Ramin Ghasemi | M | 10 | 4 April 2003 | |
| 11 | Mahan sajadi | M | 11 | 19 April 2003 | |
| 12 | Zia Alizaghi | M | 8 | 25 April 2003 | |
| 13 | Amanullah Dehpnah | M | 9 | 16 May 2003 | |
| 14 | Farshad Keyvanfar | M | 11 | 26 June 2003 | |
| 15 | Gholam Taghipoor | M | 12 | 4 August 2003 | |
| 16 | Saeed Hejazian | M | 12 | 28 August 2003 | |
| 17 | Dariush Hemmati | M | 12 | 3 September 2003 | |
| 18 | Ismail Ismailzadeh | M | 10 | 15 September 2003 | |
| 19 | Nasser Khorshidi | M | 7 | 18 October 2003 | |
| 20 | Ehsan Zare | M | 12 | 3 November 2003 | |
| 21 | Farhad Zamani | M | 15 | 12 November 2003 | |
| 22 | Khosro Danesh | M | 15 | 5 December 2003 | |
| 23 | Mehran Etemadzadeh | M | 14 | 12 December 2003 | |
| 24 | Siavash Mahmoodabadi | M | 13 | 24 December 2003 | |
| 25 | Ramin Narimani | M | 12 | 24 January 2004 | |
| 26 | Nader Fakhri | M | 10 | 28 January 2004 | |
| 27 | Korosh Mirhashemi | M | 12 | 15 February 2004 | |
| 28 | Mirza Mohammad Mirza Mohammadi | M | 9 | 22 February 2004 | |
| 29 | Ferydon Bahrami | M | 15 | 29 February 2004 | |
| 30 | Amir Masawat | M | 11 | 10 April 2004 | |
| 31 | Aria Alvandpour | M | 9 | 25 April 2004 | |
| 32 | Mirzaman Hejrati | M | 8 | 16 May 2004 | |
| 33 | Parviz Mullah Abbas | M | 12 | 1 July 2004 | |
| 34 | Khalil Salmasipour | M | 11 | 15 August 2004 | |
| 35 | Mohsen Bloorchi | M | 8 | 31 August 2004 | |
| 36 | Adel Dashti | M | 13 | 20 September 2004 | |
| 37 | Mansour Jamali | M | 12 | 20 September 2004 | |
| 38 | Iraj Bozorglou | M | 15 | 20 September 2004 | |
| 39 | Mostafa Mosani | M | 10 | 20 September 2004 | |
| 40 | Ramzan Motaki | M | 16 | 20 September 2004 | |
| 41 | Siamak Kohie | M | 17 | 20 September 2004 |
Arrest
Bijah was arrested on September 24, 2004 and tried in Branch 74 of the Tehran Penal Code, under the presiding Judge Mansour Yavarzadeh Yeganeh and his four other lawyers, and by a majority of its judges. On November 27, 2004, he was sentenced to be executed. Bijeh said that if he was not arrested, he would kill 100 children.[6] He said about his death sentence: "I do not deserve to be sentenced to death."[5] Police arrested 16 of their officers in the handling of this case, and the judiciary also announced that Pakdasht prosecutors, as well as two investigators and a prosecutor's office, had filed a "brief" case.[4]
Execution
On March 16, 2005, in Pakdasht, Iran, the town near the desert area where the killings occurred, in front of a crowd of about 5,000, Bijeh's shirt was removed, and he was handcuffed to an iron post, where he received his lashings from different judicial officials. He fell to the ground more than once during the punishment but did not cry out. A relative of one of the victims managed to get past security and stab Bijeh. The mother of one of the victims put a blue nylon rope around his neck, and he was hoisted about 10 meters in the air by a crane until he died.[7]
See also
References
- "Kids who are still hearing from brick burning furnaces" (in Persian). Young journalists club. 28 September 2013.
- Opinion - Crime auction
- Bibi Farsi - Detention of 22 child killers around Tehran
- Bibi Persian - The trial of a person accused of killing Pakdasht children
- What is the news of the compatriot Bijeh and Shahla in Evin
- Bijeh hanged in public, Iranian news agencies gooya news: politics
- Bibi Farsi - The killer of Pakdasht children was executed
External links
- Iran's 'desert vampire' executed (BBC)
- The New Criminologist