The Guardian has spoken to 11 protesters, women and men, who claim that they were subjected to rape, sexual violence, beatings and torture while being detained by security forces. Some say they were assaulted in a police van or on the streets; others while in custody in police stations or prisons.
More than four months after the death of Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish woman who died in custody after being arrested for incorrectly wearing her hijab, the Iranian authorities’ attempts to crush nationwide protests have seen more than 500 people killed by security forces, including 70 children. According to the latest report by Human Rights Activists in Iran, 19,603 individuals have been arrested in connection with the protests and remain in detention.
Human Rights Watch, which has also documented serious abuses and sexual assault of protesters in detention, said the international community was failing to try to stop the torture. Condemning the reports of torture and rape, members of the European parliament have also called on the western authorities to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terror group.
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