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IHR calls for international investigation into death of blogger Sattar Beheshti and widspread use of torture in Iranian detention centers

8 Nov 12
IHR calls for international investigation into death of blogger Sattar Beheshti and widspread use of torture in Iranian detention centers

Iran Human Rights, November 8: Reliable sources in Iran have reported that Sattar Beheshti, a blogger, died recently as a result of severe torture in detention.

Sattar Beheshti, 35, whose blog’s name is "My life for my Iran", was arrested by Fata, Iran’s cyber police, on October 30. He was charged with "Attempts made against the nation’s security through cyber activities". Beheshti’s family was told to collect his dead body on November 6. According to the family, he was in good health before his arrest and detention.

Beheshti’s body was buried at Robat Karim cemetery in Tehran on October 7.

Prior to Beheshti’s burial his body was reportedly seen briefly by at least one eye witness. According to the eye witness, there were visible wounds on Beheshti’s body, including blood stains on sections of his feet and knees. The eye witness also reported signs of trauma to Beheshti’s face and head.

Reports from several sources indicate Sattar Beheshti was transferred one day after his arrest to ward 350 of Evin Prison. There he filed a complaint against interrogators, saying that he had been detained without an arrest warrant and that his interrogators had tortured him. Beheshti mentioned tortures like being tied to a table and kicked in the head.

The reports say that Beheshti’s injuries are also related to other tortures he endured, like having been hung by his wrists from the ceiling. Beheshti spent time in the prison’s medical clinic before he was transferred to an unknown location on the evening of November 1.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) calls for the UN Special Rapporteur on torture to start an urgent investigation on the death of Sattar Beheshti and the reports on the widespread use of torture in Iranian prisons.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR, said: "All the reports indicate that Mr. Sattar Beheshti died as a result of torture while he was in detention." He added: "Torture is very common during interrogations in Iranian detention centers. The number of prisoners who die under torture is much higher than the numbers reported by the media or human rights organizations. Iranian leaders must be held responsible for the widespread use of torture in Iranian prisons."

Reliable sources in Iran say prison doctors are often told to write false death certificates stating drug overdoses as the cause of death for prisoners who die under torture.