Child detainees in Iran subjected to torture, says Amnesty
CNN
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Iranian authorities have used torture strategies together with sexual violence towards imprisoned youngsters as a part of a crackdown on latest protests, based on rights group Amnesty International.
“Iran’s intelligence and security forces have been committing horrific acts of torture, including beatings, flogging, electric shocks, rape and other sexual violence against child protesters as young as 12 to quell their involvement in nationwide protests,” Amnesty mentioned Thursday.
A report by the group uncovered “the torture methods that the Revolutionary Guards, the paramilitary Basij, the Public Security Police, and other security and intelligence forces used against boys and girls in custody to punish and humiliate them and to extract forced ‘confessions.’”
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, mentioned Iran’s “violence against children exposes deliberate strategy to crush the vibrant spirit of the country’s youth and stop them from demanding freedom and human rights.”
Amnesty “obtained testimonies from the victims and their families, as well as further testimonies on the widespread commission of torture against scores of children from 19 eyewitnesses, including two lawyers and 17 adult detainees who were held alongside children,” the human rights group mentioned.
The protests had been first ignited by the dying of 22-year-old Iranian Mahsa Amini, who died on September 16, 2022, after being detained by the nation’s morality police.
According to Amnesty, Iran has admitted to detaining greater than 22,000 folks in the course of the protests, however hasn’t specified what number of of these had been youngsters. The group estimates that 1000’s of kids could also be among the many detainees.
Amnesty additionally mentioned that “state agents used rape and other sexual violence, including electric shocks to genitals, touching genitals, and rape threats as a weapon against child detainees to break their spirits, humiliate and punish them, and/or extract ‘confessions.’”
“Other torture methods recounted include floggings, administering electric shocks using stun guns, the forced administration of unidentified pills, and holding children’s heads underwater,” the Amnesty report added.
Amnesty known as on Iran to launch any youngsters detained for protesting peacefully, and urged different nations to “exercise universal jurisdiction over Iranian officials, including those with command or superior responsibility, reasonably suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law, including the torture of child protesters.”
CNN has reached out to Iran’s authorities for remark however has not but had a response, nor has the federal government but commented publicly on the report.
In February, CNN revealed the existence of an intensive community of unlawful clandestine jails, or black websites, in Iran.
The strategies of repression and torture carried out on this shadowy community look like much more horrific than the common harsh remedy that arrested protesters can anticipate in authorized detention websites.
CNN has reached out to the Iranian authorities for touch upon the allegations of torture and abuse at these unofficial areas however has not obtained a response.