The Murder of Mehdi Nazari
Baligh’s desire for vengeance was meticulous, calculated, and cruel. He rented a house in Tehran’s affluent Qolhak neighborhood and began searching for the two men who had wronged him. Mojtabaei, he discovered, had fled the country for France. But Mehdi Nazari was still in Tehran—and still within reach.
While conducting his search, Baligh resumed his criminal activities. It was during this period that he met a like-minded Italian criminal named Albert. Together, they planned and executed a number of thefts. But Baligh’s mind remained focused on his revenge.
Pretending that he had conceived a grand heist and needed Nazari’s expertise, Baligh lured him to the Qolhak house. There, in the basement, he murdered his old partner. It was a cold and deliberate act, the culmination of betrayal, humiliation, and obsession.
The murder shocked the city. In 1955, he was brought before the Second Branch of the Supreme Criminal Court of Iran. Baligh faced charges in twelve different criminal cases, including the murder of Nazari. In a bizarre twist of legal fate, he was acquitted on eleven counts but sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of Nazari.
Life Behind Bars
But for Mehdi Baligh, prison was not the end—it was merely another stage. Incarcerated in Qasr Prison, he refused to be a passive inmate. Instead, he took to studying Iran’s judicial and procedural laws, becoming so familiar with legal matters that other prisoners began consulting him for advice. He even claimed to be a paralegal of sorts behind bars.