Iran Election Protesters 'Tortured to Death' - Report

Protesters hold up paintings of Iran's President Ahmadinedschad depicting hims as a devil during a rally against the Iranian government outside the Iranian consulate in Hamburg, Germany. Photo by BGNES

One of Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidates has said some protesters held after July's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison.

The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped, the BBC reported.

Officials deny the rape claims, but admit that abuses have taken place.

On Thursday, Karroubi alleged that a number of detainees had been tortured to death.

"Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans in [post-election] protests," his website said.

Karroubi also called for the formation of an independent committee to review his evidence in "a calm atmosphere".

On Sunday, the defeated presidential candidate claimed that some opposition protesters were raped in detention.

The claim was supported by a number of human rights groups but quickly dismissed as "totally baseless" by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani.

"Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," Larijani concluded.

 

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