Iran protests: Iranian security forces accused of sexual abuse of protesters, including a 16-year-old: Report

A teenager was reportedly among several demonstrators sexually violated while in the custody of Iranian security forces during a nationwide revolt that has claimed thousands of lives, as reported by The Guardian, citing a human rights organisation.

Two individuals, including one 16-year-old, held in the western city of Kermanshah, informed the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that riot police personnel subjected them to sexual mistreatment during their detention.

“During the transfer, security forces touched their bodies with batons. They beat and applied pressure to the anal area with a baton through the clothing,” Rebin Rahmani, of the KHRN, told The Guardian.

During the 2022 protests, prisoners documented instances of rape, physical assault and torture by law enforcement; one victim told The Guardian she was blindfolded before being sexually abused by her interrogators.

Since the onset of these current protests, 3,766 people have been killed, and an additional 8,949 fatalities are presently being scrutinised, as per data from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Hengaw, a Kurdish rights group in Norway, reported that Sholeh Sotoudeh — a pregnant resident of Langarud — was killed alongside her fetus when troops fired upon protesters in northwestern Iran on 10 January.

In the most recent disturbances, at least one activist, 40-year-old Soran Feyzizadeh, died from injuries sustained through torture while imprisoned, according to Hengaw. The group noted that Feyzizadeh was seized during the 7 January rallies, and relatives were notified of his passing two days afterwards.

“His body was barely recognisable due to the extent of injuries caused by repeated blows,” said Awyar Shekhi, of Hengaw, who added that the family had to “pay a heavy sum just to retrieve his body from the authorities”.

“The city [Saqqez in western Iran] was militarised, and movement was completely restricted,” the relative said. “I wanted to be with my family during this time, but they didn’t allow it. They didn’t allow anyone to be with our family. They killed him. They killed Soran so brutally,” a close relative of Feyzizadeh told The Guardian.

KHRN’s Rebin Rahmani stated they are verifying two other custodial deaths allegedly caused by security personnel, involving a woman from Kermanshah and a man from Marivan.

Persistent internet shutdowns have blocked direct communication with domestic protesters. Meanwhile, the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre has identified over 549 detainees, including 51 women, who were moved to Yazd central prison, raising grave fears for their safety.