Sepideh Qolyan's reaction to the release of a video attributed to detainees of popular protests by the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation: They are forcing confessions through medieval torture

Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist who is currently temporarily released on bail, revealed in a series of tweets about televised confessions attributed to those detained during popular protests.

This civil activist mentioned on Twitter her personal experience with televised confessions during her arrest, writing that "Amneh Sadat Zabihpour," a journalist for the Iranian Broadcasting System who was present in the interrogation room during the production of the television program "Burnt Design," gave Sepideh Qolyan a pre-prepared text to read in front of the camera.

The televised confession, which he said the interrogators were not happy with, saying they were inexperienced and that the footage should be re-recorded in a villa. The footage was used by the interrogators of the case to threaten Sepideh Qolyan and Esmaeil Bakhshi for a long time after the first round of release.

During the production stages of the burnt design, Ms. Amine Sadat Zabihpour was present in the interrogation room to provide us with a text she had prepared in advance to read in front of the camera after hours of physical and mental torture.

Sepideh Qolyan, pointing out that the publication of these forced confessions is the only evidence of the oppression inflicted on political prisoners, says that at the time these images were recorded, the interrogators in her case told her, "First we will destroy your reputation by broadcasting the film, and then we will get to you with acid."

Based on his personal experience during his arrest and interrogations, this civil activist says that in relation to the broadcast of confessions of Arab activists on television affiliated with the Islamic Republic, these Arab activists were definitely forced to repeat the interrogators' story of the Mahshahr Reeds disaster under medieval torture, and the process of pressure and brutal torture before the films were recorded can be guessed.

Previously, the Voice of America had released a video of armed military forces attacking protesters in Mahshahr with machine guns and heavy weapons, announcing that after several days of silence, the Islamic Republic authorities finally claimed that they responded harshly because the protesters were armed.

Ms. Gholian also announced a complaint against Amine Sadat Zabihpour in Iran, calling on all those who have been victims of the security agencies' storytelling in the past to speak out about the suffering they endured during the broadcast of forced confessions behind the camera and before filming.

This civil activist, who was arrested during the Haft Tappeh workers' protests, announced after her initial arrest, along with Esmaeil Bakhshi, that they had been tortured and forced to confess. After this revelation, Ms. Gholian and Esmaeil Bakhshi were arrested again, and after some time, she was temporarily released on November 25, along with several labor activists in Iran, on bail of 500 million Tomans.

After his release, with the start of the recent popular protests in Iran, he was re-arrested at his father's house for participating in the protests on Saturday night, November 15, and after a few days, he was finally temporarily released on December 12 after posting bail of 200 million tomans.

The issue of forced confessions on Iranian state television has been raised many times before. This method of obtaining confessions has been criticized by human rights groups many times, although this method is still being used by the Islamic Republic's judiciary.

Previously, the issue of forced confessions from detainees regarding the assassination of nuclear scientists and their broadcast on television had made headlines. Mazyar Ebrahimi, who was arrested in 2012 on charges of involvement in the "assassination of nuclear scientists" and released in 2014, had recently said in an interview with BBC Persian that the story on Iranian television was "fabricated and fabricated by the minds of harsh interrogators in the Ministry of Intelligence."

Internet activist Saeed Malekpour was also among the other prisoners who sat in front of the camera and made forced confessions. The confessions, which Saeed Malekpour later claimed were obtained under torture.

Source: Voice of America