Published: Less than 10 min ago
The three men have been sentenced to double the death penalty.
They have pleaded guilty to “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth”.
Now a report from Amnesty shows how Iranian authorities got the men to confess.
Arshia Takdastan, 18, Mehdi Mohammadifard, 19, and Javad Rouhi, 31, took part in a demonstration in the city of Noshahr, north of Tehran, last September. According to the Iranian court, they allegedly danced, clapped, sang and threw headscarves into bonfires. For that, they were all sentenced to double the death penalty. Their crime was “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth”. Javad Rouhi also received a third death sentence for burning a Koran, a crime he admitted during interrogation, writes Amnesty.
But information provided to Amnesty shows the conditions under which the three men confessed. Javad Rouhi was arrested at the end of September and isolated in Tir Kola prison in northern Iran for 40 days. There he was tied to a stake after which soldiers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards beat and whipped him. They also allegedly put ice on his testicles for two days and threatened to execute him if he did not confess.
Injuries after rape
Mehdi Mohammadifard also received similar treatment before confessing. He was locked in a cell full of rats and cockroaches and then repeatedly raped during interrogation until he had to be taken to hospital bleeding.
Arshia Takdastan also had a gun pointed at his head and the message that he would be shot if he did not confess to his crimes in front of a video camera. The interrogator also allegedly threatened to imprison and torture his father if he did not confess.
Strong criticism from Amnesty
According to Amnesty’s report, it was the men’s confessions that were the basis for the death sentences handed down after an hour-long trial, where the men were denied the choice of their own lawyers. Something that Amnesty criticizes and now they want to see measures.
“It is abhorrent that while the majority of the world’s states have relegated the death penalty to history, the Iranian authorities are increasingly applying it for crimes such as arson and vandalism, which is a gross violation of international law,” writes Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director of Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa in the report.
The men’s sentence has been appealed to the highest court in Iran, and now Amnesty is calling on the Iranian authorities to stop the death penalty.
“The Iranian authorities must immediately revoke the men’s death sentences and drop all charges related to their peaceful participation in the protests,” writes Diana Eltahawy