“Yesterday’s reports of the death of Yaser Mangouri in suspicious circumstances further exposes how the prevailing climate of impunity further emboldens security forces to violate prisoners' right to life without any fear of consequence or accountability,” Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa regional director at Amnesty International, said in a report released on Wednesday.
Kurdish human rights groups reported that Mangouri, a father of two children, was arrested by Iranian intelligence forces on July 17 in Urmia, West Azerbaijan. He was taken to a detention centre where he died “under torture.” It is not clear why he was arrested.
The family had no contact with Mangouri while he was detained. On September 8, they were informed he was dead. Family members said they were told by officials that he was killed in clashes with security forces. His body has not been returned to the family.
The province’s chief justice denied Mangouri died under torture. This “is false and such a thing did not happen,” said Nasser Etbati, state media IRNA reported.
The judge said Mangouri was “killed in armed conflict” and alleged he was a member of a Kurdish opposition group. These groups frequently clash with Iranian security forces.
Amnesty International said Iranian authorities have failed to account for at least 72 men and women have died in custody since 2010.
More than half appear to have died from torture and ill-treatment. “In 46 cases, informed sources including the relatives and/or fellow inmates of the deceased reported that the death resulted from physical torture or other ill treatment at the hands of intelligence and security agents or prison officials,” said Amnesty.
Abuse is rife in Iran’s prisons. A recent leaked video showed abuses in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, such as a man smashing a bathroom mirror to try to cut his arm, guards hitting prisoners, and guards fighting among themselves.
International monitors are concerned that human rights could further erode in Iran under new President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge with a record of abuses and who is believed to have played a role in a 1988 prison massacre.
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