"Suicide" of one of the protesters! Serious danger threatens the lives of all those arrested
January 8, 2018 – According to the “Committee for Following Up on Arrests of the Nationwide Protests of January 2017,” one of the protesters arrested in the protests after January 27, named Sina Ghanbari (22 years old), lost her life on the night of January 5 in quarantine at Evin Prison “for unknown reasons.” Intelligence and security agencies, in contact with two members of parliament, have claimed that she committed suicide.
There is no news about the fate of another detained protester. Evin Prison officials have told the family of Ashkan Absavar (20) that he is missing. Ashkan Absavar had informed his family of his arrest by phone on January 4.
A number of Islamic Republic officials have spoken of the arrest of protest "leaders," and the head of the illegal Islamic Revolutionary Courts has announced that: "Some individuals who have been present as leaders in the riots are usually charged with war crimes."
Thus, once again, the lives of all detainees are in serious danger. The Islamic Republic has a clear history in this regard. The deaths of several protesters detained in Kahrizak detention center in 2009, the murder of Zahra Kazemi (Iranian-Canadian photojournalist) and critical blogger Sattar Beheshti, the deaths of political and ideological prisoners Akbar Mohammadi, Valiollah Faiz Mahdavi, Hoda Saber, critical blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, and labor and trade union activist Shahrokh Zamani in circumstances highly suspicious of murder are just a few examples of dozens of cases.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested.
According to various statistics announced by different sources, the number of those arrested as of January 4 is estimated to be more than 2,000. Official sources have confirmed the arrest of 90 students - mostly as a precaution. While other sources have published the names of more than 100 students who were arrested. After announcing the arrest of about 1,000 people in the first days of the protests, the Islamic Republic has refused to provide any statistics in this regard, and the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior told reporters today, January 8, that he could not provide accurate statistics on those arrested in the recent protests !
At least 27 people killed
The death toll from the recent protests in Iran has reached at least 27, according to official figures from the Islamic Republic. The representative of Khomeini City in the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced today that, according to official statistics, 4 people have been killed in the protests in this city. Previously, at least 22 people had been killed in the protests: 6 in Qahdarijan, 3 in Shahinshahr, 4 in Dorud, 6 in Tuyserkan, 2 in Izeh, 1 in Kahrizsang (near Najafabad). Of these, two are said to be Islamic Republic agents and, according to the Minister of Education, two of the dead were young students. Various evidence suggests that the death toll is higher than the official figure. The repression was carried out mainly by the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij. After initially denying it, the IRGC admitted that it had participated in suppressing the protests in at least three cities directly and in other cities through the Basij militia affiliated with the IRGC. The IRGC is primarily responsible for torturing and pressuring detainees to make false confessions in Ward 2A and Ward 240 of Evin Prison.
Abdolkarim Lahiji, Honorary President of the International Federation of Human Rights Societies and President of the Society for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran, expressed deep concern for the lives of the detainees and announced:
"The right to assemble and protest is a fundamental human right. Any recourse to vague and inhumane accusations, including war crimes, against protesters is a gross violation of the Iranian government's obligations under international human rights conventions and will only lead to a heavier case of human rights violations by the Islamic Republic's government before international authorities."
Source: fidh
