Iranian protesters sexually assaulted by security forces, human rights group says

Iran’s security forces are accused of sexually assaulting protesters in custody, including a 16-year-old, during the violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrators that has left thousands dead, according to a new report.

At least two protesters, including a minor, have detailed the sexual abuse they suffered to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) during their arrest at a rally against the regime, The Guardian reported.

“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 outlet.

The allegations match the descriptions from other human rights groups of the extreme violence carried out specifically against the Kurdish minority in Iran during the protest crackdown.

The groups have also warned that many more protesters are likely to come forward with similar stories given the horrors demonstrators faced during the 2022 anti-government rallies, when reports emerged of regular rapes, beatings and torture by state police.

The scale, however, could be much larger this time as an estimated 20,000 people have been detained since the demonstrations began on Dec. 28.

The current extent of the violence against protesters remains unclear due to the near-total internet blackout in Iran.

As of Monday, at least one protester has been confirmed to have been killed as a result of torture by Iran’s security forces while under custody, according to the Norwegian-based human rights group Hengaw.

The protester was identified as Soran Feyzizadeh, 40, of Kurdistan, who was arrested during a protest on Jan. 7 and reported dead just two days later.

“His body was barely recognizable due to the extent of injuries caused by repeated blows,” Hengaw member Awyar Shekhi told The Guardian.

KHRN warned that at least 20 children and teens remain in custody in the Ilam, Kermanshah, and Kurdistan provinces in Iran, with the protesters allegedly deprived of legal support and subjected to torture.

Ilam was notably the site of a brutal hospital raid where Iranian security forces deployed gunfire and tear gas on patients and medical staff.

Along with the mass arrests, it is estimated that at least 3,766 have been killed during the protests in Iran, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.