Amnesty Condemns ‘Impunity’ Over Deaths in Custody in Iran

In this undated frame grab taken from video shared with The Associated Press by a self-identified hacker group called "The Justice of Ali," guards drag an emaciated prisoner, at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. (The Justice of Ali via AP)
In this undated frame grab taken from video shared with The Associated Press by a self-identified hacker group called "The Justice of Ali," guards drag an emaciated prisoner, at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. (The Justice of Ali via AP)
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Amnesty Condemns ‘Impunity’ Over Deaths in Custody in Iran

In this undated frame grab taken from video shared with The Associated Press by a self-identified hacker group called "The Justice of Ali," guards drag an emaciated prisoner, at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. (The Justice of Ali via AP)
In this undated frame grab taken from video shared with The Associated Press by a self-identified hacker group called "The Justice of Ali," guards drag an emaciated prisoner, at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. (The Justice of Ali via AP)

Amnesty International has condemned the climate of impunity that prevails in Iran over more than 70 deaths in custody reported in the past 10 years.

"Iranian authorities have failed to provide accountability for at least 72 deaths in custody since January 2010, despite credible reports that they resulted from torture or other ill-treatment or the lethal use of firearms and tear gas by officials," AI said.

In a statement issued last Wednesday, the London-based rights group said the latest documented case concerns Yaser Mangouri, aged 31, whose death was reported to his family by ministry of intelligence officials in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province on September 8, 2021.

Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Regional Director at Amnesty International said reports of the death of Mangouri in suspicious circumstances further exposes how the prevailing climate of impunity further emboldens security forces to violate prisoners’ right to life without any fear of consequence or accountability.

“The authorities’ systemic refusal to conduct any independent investigations into these deaths in custody is a grim reflection of the normalization of the arbitrary deprivation of life by state authorities,” she noted.

In its report, AI said that since January 2010, at least 72 deaths occurred at 42 prisons and detention centers in 16 provinces across the country.

It showed that in 46 of the deaths in custody cases, informed sources reported that the death resulted from physical torture or other ill-treatment at the hands of intelligence and security agents or prison officials.

The rights group added that a further 15 followed the lethal use of firearms and/or tear gas by prison security guards to suppress prison protests over COVID-19 safety fears, also according to credible sources.

In the remaining 11 cases, the deaths occurred in suspicious circumstances, but no further details about potential causes were available. The majority of deaths recorded took place since 2015.

Last August 24, leaked surveillance footage from Iran’s Evin prison showed appalling abuse of prisoners, reminding of the impunity granted to prison officials in Iran who subject those in their custody to torture and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.

Amnesty International accused Iranian authorities of typically blaming deaths in custody on suicide, drug overdose or illness in a rushed manner and without conducting any independent and transparent investigations.



Hundreds of Journalists in France Stage ‘Die-in’ Solidarity Rally for Colleagues Killed in Gaza

More than 200 journalists lay down on the steps of the Opéra Bastille in a symbolic “die-in” as the names of the reporters killed in Gaza were read out (AFP) 
More than 200 journalists lay down on the steps of the Opéra Bastille in a symbolic “die-in” as the names of the reporters killed in Gaza were read out (AFP) 
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Hundreds of Journalists in France Stage ‘Die-in’ Solidarity Rally for Colleagues Killed in Gaza

More than 200 journalists lay down on the steps of the Opéra Bastille in a symbolic “die-in” as the names of the reporters killed in Gaza were read out (AFP) 
More than 200 journalists lay down on the steps of the Opéra Bastille in a symbolic “die-in” as the names of the reporters killed in Gaza were read out (AFP) 

Hundreds of journalists joined demonstrations in Paris and Marseille (southern France) on Wednesday in a show of solidarity for their colleagues killed in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, AFP correspondents said.

In Paris, more than 200 journalists, including prominent members of the French press, lay down on the steps of the Opéra Bastille in a symbolic “die-in” as the names of the reporters killed in Gaza were read out.

Nearly 200 journalists were killed in the Palestinian enclave since October 2023.

“Gaza of faces, not just numbers”, read posters bearing photographs of their fallen Palestinian colleagues.

At the demonstration, placards bearing the logos of journalist trade unions stood alongside numerous Palestinian flags and keffiyehs. Some participants also chanted, “We will not be silent,” and “Free Palestine.”

Head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Europe branch, Yousef Habash, made a stand against “genocide” in Gaza, demanding an end to the blockade imposed on the Strip.

Head of France’s journalist union SNJ-CGT, Pablo Aiquel, said, “We have never witnessed such a high number of victims in our profession.”

He said the right to information is under threat.

Reporters Without Borders Director General Thibaut Bruttin said “This gathering comes late, perhaps too late. (...) I've never seen a conflict during which a killed journalist is described as a terrorist.”

In Marseille, about 160 people attended a similar demonstration. The names of journalists killed in Gaza were read out, before the participants held a minute's silence to mourn the victims.

In an op-ed in the leading French daily Le Monde earlier this week, several journalist associations, trade unions and around 40 media organizations, condemned the Israeli media blackout in Gaza.

“The Israeli army is imposing a media blackout on Gaza to silence, as much as possible, the witnesses of the war crimes committed by its troops,” said the newspaper column.