"Suspicious Death" Witness to Navid Afkari's Torture in Solitary Cell of Greater Tehran Prison

The Iranian Human Rights Organization reported the “suspicious death” of Shahin Naseri in solitary confinement in Greater Tehran Prison. Naseri’s brother confirmed his death but said that no official has contacted them regarding his brother’s death.

The Iranian Human Rights Organization reported on Tuesday, September 21, that informed sources in conversations with the organization reported the suspicious death of Shahin Naseri, who witnessed the torture of Navid Afkari.

Shahin Nasseri's brother confirmed his death but said that they have not yet been contacted by authorities.

According to the Iranian Human Rights Organization, Shahin Nasseri was exiled to Greater Tehran Prison after testifying about the torture of Navid Afkari and has been in solitary confinement for some time.

Shahin Naseri's lawyer, Babak Paknia, wrote on his Twitter page that his client had no contact on Tuesday and could not confirm or deny the news of his "death."

Paknia wrote: "I have no information about the published news and I don't know if they are really dead or not; no one I contacted has any definitive information; I even spoke to their brother, who said they received news of their death from fellow prisoners, but Shahin told me yesterday that he is not in prison; that is the extent of my information."

The Iranian Human Rights Organization wrote that "an informed source" told the organization that he saw Shahin Naseri's body in the prison's infirmary.

The source also emphasized: "It is possible that the prison organization wants to declare his death a suicide. But Mr. Nasseri was not a depressed person or someone with a mental problem who wanted to commit suicide. He was married and had children and was hopeful for his future. He did not have any specific illness that would cause him to die."

Shahin Naseri's testimony about Navid Afkari's torture

Navid Afkari was executed on September 12, 2020, in Adel Abad Prison, Shiraz. Various reports of his torture to extract a forced confession were published, but the Iranian judiciary denied torturing Afkari and said that he confessed under normal circumstances.

But at the same time, the voice of Shahin Naseri, who was serving his sentence for non-political crimes in Shiraz at the time, was broadcast, denying this claim as a witness to the torture of Navid Afkari.

Shahin Naseri, a business expert, described in detail in his “Witness Investigation” sheet the day he saw Navid Afkari in Shiraz “during torture.”

According to these four pages of testimony, Shahin Naseri said that while he was at the Shiraz Intelligence Department, he heard Navid Afkari's screams and saw him being beaten by two plainclothes officers.

Navid Afkari Sangari, a 27-year-old wrestler from Shiraz, his two brothers Vahid and Habib, and another young man named Saeed Dashtaki were tried and convicted on charges of “active participation” in the August 2018 protest movements in Shiraz.

Navid Afkari was executed in Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, but his last words before the execution were recorded.

The wrestler said about his torture, among other things: "They put plastic on my face and pushed me to the brink of suffocation and death. They severely beat my hands, stomach, and legs with batons and hard objects, and repeatedly insulted me with insulting and vulgar words. They tied me up tightly and poured alcohol into my nose."

Source: DW