Human rights groups on Friday called for an investigation into the death in prison of an Iranian man originally sentenced to death in connection with last year's protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
On Thursday, Iran’s judiciary announced that Javad Rouhi, an inmate in Nowshahr city prison, was transferred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in the city early Thursday after suffering a seizure while in prison, AFP reported.
Rouhi, 31, was sentenced to death last January on the charge of “corruption on Earth” in Nowshahr in the northern province of Mazandaran and “apostasy by desecration of the Koran by burning it.”
Later in May, the death sentence was struck down and a retrial ordered.
Human Rights Watch said on Friday that Rouhi died under suspicious circumstances on August 31, 2023, in northern Iran, raising grave concerns about his treatment.
“He was horrifically tortured following his arrest during the widespread protests that erupted in Iran in September 2022 and convicted two months later after an unfair trial.”
Tara Sepehri Far, senior Iran researcher at HRW, said the Iranian prison authorities' egregious record of torture and mistreatment makes Javad Rouhi's death in custody more than a little suspicious.
She added, “An international inquiry is needed since there's no reason to believe Iranian authorities will carry out a transparent investigation.”
According to HRW, which cited an informed source, Rouhi had in custody suffered torture including being exposed to freezing temperatures and having ice cubes placed on his testicles and other parts of his body for 48-hour periods.
“He experienced a concussion in detention as a result of torture and was transferred to a hospital for 24 hours,” it added.
Rouhi died almost a year after a nationwide protest movement was triggered by the September 16 death in custody of Iranian Kurd Amini.
The 22-year-old had been detained for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.
During months of protest, which Tehran called foreign-instigated “riots,” thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed, including dozens of security personnel.
Seven men have been executed in cases related to the protests that involved killings and violence against members of the security forces.
“The United Nations fact-finding mission should investigate all torture and deaths in custody related to the protests in Iran,” Sepehri Far said. “Sadly, the case of Javad Rouhi is just the latest one.”
Also, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) echoed that Rouhi died “under suspicious circumstances.”
IHR's director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said Rouhi's death must be investigated “as an extrajudicial killing in prison” by the UN fact-finding mission set up to investigate human right abuse committed during Iran's crackdown on the protests.
