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On November 15, 2019, thousands of people in Iran came out and demonstrated against higher gasoline prices. There were fires and vandalism, but the protests were largely peaceful.
But the response from the Iranian security forces was violent. Hundreds of protesters died and more than 7,000 were arrested.
At least three sentenced to death
Amnesty has tried to map what happened to the detainees and, in a report released today, they have identified more than 500 people and what happened to them.
At least three young people have been sentenced to death for “enmity against God.” Others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison. A dozen have been sentenced to whipping, of which at least two have already been flogged.
Many testify about widespread torture and inhuman treatment when they were arrested and detained.
Men, women and children were beaten with sticks, batons and cables. They were forced to sit and stand in painful positions for long periods and did not receive enough food and water.
Iranian interrogators from the intelligence and security services are said to have forced the detainees to strip naked, subjected them to electric shocks and mock executions.
According to Amnesty, the Iranian authorities use torture to punish, intimidate and humiliate.
Amnesty: Serious Human Rights Violations
Many detainees were “disappeared” for days, weeks and even months while in secret custody. In one case that Amnesty writes about in the report, the authorities arrested a relative who asked about two missing relatives.
Under Iranian criminal law, the protesters have been convicted of “disturbing public order”, “spreading propaganda against the system” and “insulting the supreme leader”.
Amnesty International believes that Iran has committed serious human rights violations. Amnesty is convinced that the number of accused and convicted persons significantly exceeds the 500 that give them their name, as more than 7,000 were arrested during the demonstrations.
