Iran Updates: Confirmed – Security forces sexually assaulted and killed teenage protester Nika Shakarami

Nika Shakarami, killed by Iranian security forces on September 20, 2022 during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests

Political prisoner Shirin Saeedi has been sentenced to five years in prison by a revolutionary court in Tehran.

Saeedi was arrested on December 23 and taken to Tehran’s Evin Prison. She was convicted of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

Mahmoud Mehrabi, arrested in February 2023, was sentenced to death by a court in Isfahan, central Iran.

Mehrabi was arrested for posting critical of the Iranian regime on social media. He was convicted of “corruption on earth.”

Mehrabi’s lawyer, Babak Farsani, indicated he would appeal the verdict because of “serious issues.”

Journalist and activist Dina Ghalibaf has been released on bail after almost two weeks in custody.

Ghalibaf was arrested on April 16. A day earlier, she posted on social media about sexual assault and electric shocks by Iran’s moral police when she was arrested for “inappropriate hijab” in a subway station in Tehran.

See also Iran updates: Sexual abuse in custody, journalist Ghalibaf is arrested again

The Center for Human Rights in Iran has called for the release of cartoonist and civil rights activist Atena Farghadani from prison, claiming she was tortured.

Farghadani was arrested by Revolutionary Guard intelligence officers on April 13. She tried to display one of her cartoons outside the Supreme Leader’s compound in Tehran.

“After being taken to a safe house, she suffered brutal torture, resulting in loss of consciousness due to profuse bleeding and head injuries,” said human rights lawyer Mohammad Moghimi. “A few hours later she regained consciousness in the security police prayer room.”

The lawyer said Farghadani was initially transferred to Qarchak prison south of Tehran, but “officials there refused to accept her because her face and body showed signs of torture.” She was then taken to Tehran’s Evin Prison.

The activist faces charges of “insulting the saint,” “propaganda against the state,” and “disturbing public order.” If convicted, she could face up to seven years in prison.

CHRI Managing Director Hadi Ghaemi explains:

Farghadani is an artist, an activist and a woman – all of which make Islamic Republic officials tremble.

She was targeted because she staunchly opposed the Islamic Republic’s oppression. The international community should demand their immediate release.

Their commitment to freedom and justice is unwavering, and the demands of their fellow cartoonists and artists for their freedom should be amplified by all defenders of human rights.

Islamic scholar and human rights activist Sedigheh Vasmaghi has been released from prison amid concerns about her deteriorating health.

Vasmaghi, who was transferred to hospital from Tehran’s Evin prison last month, was released on Monday.

Vasmaghi, a critic of compulsory hijab, posted a video on social media in November in which her head was exposed. She was arrested at her home on March 16 and charged with “propaganda against the system in cyberspace” and “appearing in public without a Sharia-compliant hijab.”

Authorities repeatedly refused to heed doctors’ urgent requests to transfer Vasmaghi to the hospital, but relented when she became blind.

In a letter to a United Nations investigative committee, the scientist described her unlawful detention and brutal treatment and torture by regime officials. Despite her blindness, she was repeatedly interrogated without legal representation.

See also Iran updates: 11 women’s rights activists sentenced to prison terms of 1 to 6 years

Shakarami, 16, disappeared from a demonstration on September 20, 2022, four days after protests began over the death of Mahsa Amini – arrested and reportedly beaten by the “morality police” for “inappropriate clothing” – in police custody. Nine days later, her family found her body in a morgue.

The Iranian regime denied any connection between Shahkarami, the mass demonstration and the security forces – although a video showed her at the gathering near Laleh Park in central Tehran, standing on a dumpster and setting fire to hijabs, while others ” Death to the dictator,” the Supreme Leader chanted. Authorities claimed she killed herself by jumping from the roof, but wounds on her body suggested she had been attacked.

Confirmation of murder

Claims of a leaked report first circulated in February. The BBC verified the details with multiple sources to confirm the statements in the document.

The “strictly confidential” memorandum summarizes a Revolutionary Guard hearing on the case. It contains the names of the killers from the paramilitary group Iranian Hezbollah and the senior Guard commanders who covered up the murder.

Hezbollah’s Team 12 was one of several covert security units monitoring the demonstration in Laleh Park. It suspected Shahkarami “of leadership because of her unconventional behavior and repeated calls on her mobile phone.”

One of the team, posing as a protester, went into the crowd to confirm the teenager’s role and called on colleagues to arrest her. She fled and called a friend to tell her that she was being followed by security forces.

Nearly an hour later, she was arrested and placed in Team 12’s unmarked refrigerated truck. It was taken to a makeshift police camp but was turned away from the overcrowded facility. The head of a detention center refused to accept Shakarami because she “constantly cursed and chanted.”

As the van drove to Tehran’s Evin Prison, a member of the security forces sexually assaulted Shakarami as he sat on her. Even though she was handcuffed and bound, she fought back, kicked and swore. This prompted the officers to beat them with batons.

The team leader, Morteza Jalil, heard the commotion in the back of the van and ordered the driver to stop. He opened the back door and saw Shakarami’s lifeless body. He cleaned the blood from her face and head, “which were not in good condition.”

The report confirms that “all three batons and three stun guns were used” in the beating of Shakarami: “It is not clear which of the blows was fatal.”

Jalil said he didn’t try to find out what happened: “I was just thinking about how to move her and didn’t ask anyone any questions. I just asked, ‘Is she breathing?'”

Jalil spoke by telephone to a senior Guards officer, Capt. Mohammad Zamani, who told him to “throw them on the street.” Shakarami’s body was left on a quiet street under Tehran’s Yadegar-e-Emam highway.

There is no record of any action being taken against the murderers. The report concludes: “As the above-mentioned individuals belonged to Hezbollah forces, it was not possible to pursue this case beyond obtaining the necessary assurances and security guarantees.”

Guard captain Zamani received a written reprimand.