NOS News•
Iranian security forces have tortured children and youth arrested during anti-government protests. This is reported by Amnesty International a report. The human rights organization says that children in detention have been subjected to whipping, electric shocks and sexual abuse, among other things.
It applies to both boys and girls. The youngest victim was 12 years old. Authorities use torture as a strategy to deter children and young people from joining protests for freedom and human rights, Amnesty writes.
The organization calls it “abhorrent” that government officials exert power in this way on “vulnerable and fearful children” and leave the children and their families with “serious physical and mental scars”. Many of the children now appear to have been released, but only after signing a statement saying they are repentant and will no longer be politically active.
Broken ribs and broken teeth
Amnesty relies, among other things, on statements from children, parents and lawyers. Adult former prisoners told the organization that children were subjected to the same torture as they were. In prison, boys were put naked against a wall, after which guards treated the victims’ genitals with tasers.
Earlier, Iranians told NOS about physical and mental torture of demonstrators. For example, prisoners are hung upside down from the ceiling and beaten with sticks. They also spoke of broken ribs and chipped teeth. The authorities use torture to force confessions, among other things.
Protests against the regime
Large-scale protests began in the country more than six months ago after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. She died in a cell after she was arrested by the vice squad because she would not have adhered to the strict dress code. Throughout the country, Iranians took to the streets for weeks for more freedoms and the end of the regime.
Students and children played a major role in the demonstrations. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in the protests. At least 500 people have died. Four protesters are known to have been executed after being convicted. Dozens of others may face the same fate.
Partly because of the harsh repression, the street protests have subsided. This week, judicial authorities announced that 22,000 demonstrators have now been released from prison following a decision by Ayatollah Khamenei, the country’s top cleric.
