Prisons in Iran: How the regime tortures protesters

Rape, whipping, psychological violence: former Iranian prisoners and an escaped prison guard report NDR, WDR and SZ, how brutal the regime in Iran is against detained demonstrators.

Laleh Salawi is returning from guitar lessons with her friend when she sees a group of women protesting against the Iranian regime. The two girls sing along before security forces suddenly appear, surround them and take them away. Laleh has to give up her cell phone, is blindfolded – and will be severely traumatized four hours later. This is what Laleh, whose name was changed to protect her, said a few weeks later in an interview with NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ).

At the police station, she first saw boys being taken into the interrogation room. The boys were laid on the ground and beaten. Then it was Laleh and her friend’s turn. Several men, Laleh later suspects, are said to have kicked her and injured her with electric batons. A little later, her entire right leg had turned blue.

During interrogation, she was threatened that the boss would beat her if she lied. The night before, she prepared some leaflets to get people to protest. She still had a handful of notes in her pocket while in prison. In an unobserved moment, Laleh claims to have eaten them quickly.

“After the interrogation, we sat there and they used electric batons behind our backs to scare us,” she told reporters. “They laughed at that.”

Laleh and her friend could have left the police station in the middle of the night. Since then she has not touched a guitar, she has become worse at school. “For the first week she cried every day, always at the time they arrested her,” says her father.

severe abuse

Nevertheless, says Laleh Salawi, she will continue to protest if the streets get crowded again. “Because we are a generation that wants freedom. No generation before us was as brave as we are.” The demonstrations were triggered by the death of the Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the vice squad for not wearing her hijab properly. She had collapsed at the police station and then died.

As with Laleh Salawi, the reporters have spoken to more than a dozen Iranians who have been arrested since the protests began. Many of them report much worse abuse. According to their own statements, all those affected are now free again, often on high bails or on probation. Almost all of them are still in Iran today.

A large proportion of those affected reported being beaten with clubs or fists during arrest or interrogation, and several reported broken bones. The majority of the protesters the reporters spoke to were blindfolded during interrogations. One described how he and his fellow inmates were made to kneel blindfolded for 24 hours. Anyone who moved was beaten.

threat of the death penalty

In addition to the physical torture, the Iranians report how they were psychologically intimidated. Those affected were threatened with the death penalty, with rape, with electric shockers or beatings. Some of those affected say that they were given medication against their will.

Detainees also report witnessing people being whipped on the soles of their bare feet, being whipped with water hoses and being tortured with electric batons. “You heard the screams,” says a young man. “It was to make you afraid and admit everything.” Sexual violence is said to have occurred in three cases. People are said to have been tied to pieces of furniture and raped with rubber truncheons or electric batons.

The Iranians unanimously report that cell phones and laptops have been taken away from them, often when they were arrested. The detainees were threatened and tortured into revealing their passwords. Statements on social media, on WhatsApp or Instagram were then presented to them in printed form. The security forces also presented one of those affected with pictures of their relatives from a demo in Berlin that was critical of the regime.

None of those affected received legal assistance. The families were often not informed for days. “They had a general arrest warrant, no name. When I asked, ‘Where is my name?’ they replied: ‘This piece of paper is enough for us to arrest 80 million Iranians,'” says an arrested woman from Tehran.

Former warden confirms abuse

The reports of those affected are supported by an escaped prison guard, the reporter from NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” could meet in Germany. According to his own statements, he worked in various Iranian prisons for more than ten years – even after the protests began. His service card and payslips prove it.

He confirms the allegations of torture. People were whipped several times a day in the prisons. His colleagues also used pepper spray, batons or stun guns to torture him. On his cell phone, he shows a form for guards to fill out, with the inmates’ names, the number of lashes received and the inmate’s fingerprint.

“They just wanted the protesters to feel bad, so they were tortured,” he says. “No mercy” instructed the prison administration. Families were not informed that people had to sleep in cold rooms in thin prison clothing. On the concrete floor, next to her own feces. At some point, he says, he couldn’t stand it any longer and fled.

Since the protests began in September 2022, it has been difficult for journalists to verify statements from Iran. However, the reporters systematically checked the reports of the interlocutors and were able to compare many of the statements with publicly available information and with geographical details. The information also corresponds to prison conditions as described by prisoners in previous years. In addition, the reporters were able to view documents from courts and prisons as well as photos, videos and medical records for the majority of the cases described. These and reports from relatives, friends or attending physicians support the statements made by those affected.

A situation report by the Federal Foreign Office from the end of November, classified as confidential, underscores the findings of the research. Accordingly, there are “numerous reports of forced confessions through torture and psychological pressure”. In addition, “mental and physical torture and inhuman treatment during interrogations and in detention” are common among political prisoners in Iran.

When asked, a spokeswoman for the ministry said: “The terrible experiences mentioned by those affected correspond to reports that are also known to the Foreign Office.” In addition to the already existing sanctions, further measures are being examined. The Iranian embassy in Germany and the Iranian foreign ministry left an inquiry unanswered.