ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Saturday raised concerns that an Iranian protester may have been tortured to death in prison. Iranian officials have denied the accusation.
Javad Rouhi was arrested during the Woman Life Freedom protests last September. In December, he was sentenced to death on charges including “waging war against God.” That conviction was overturned in May and he was to be retried, according to his lawyer. In detention, he was tortured by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the HRW.
On August 31, he was taken to hospital where he died the same day.
“The Iranian prison authorities’ egregious record of torture and mistreatment makes Javad Rouhi’s death in custody more than a little suspicious,” said Human Rights Watch’s Iran researcher Tara Sepehri Far, calling for an international investigation.
“The United Nations fact finding mission should investigate all torture and deaths in custody related to the protests in Iran,” Sepehri Far added. “Sadly, the case of Javad Rouhi is just the latest one.”
Nowshahr prison, where Rouhi was jailed in Mazadanran province north of Tehran, denied he died due to torture. The prison said Rouhi suffered a seizure and died after receiving medical treatment in hospital. Nowshahr’s health department also said he had a history of seizures and drug use.
The judiciary’s Mizan News Agency published a video it said showed Rouhi in good health, meeting his family members at the prison less than 24 hours before his death.
The Woman Life Freedom protests erupted across Iran last September after the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. The protests began with demands for greater freedoms and evolved into calls for the overthrow of the regime. Security forces cracked down on the protests, killing hundreds and arresting thousands. Several protesters have been sentenced to death.
