Hengaw Report on Violent Behavior of Police Officer Towards Hearing-Impaired Afghan Teenager

The release of a video on social media showing the violent behavior of the Islamic Republic's police force towards a teenager reportedly from Afghanistan has sparked reactions from some users. In a citizen report based on statements from some news sources regarding the violence of an Islamic Republic police officer in 'Abasrd Damavand village' towards an Afghan teenager, the officer is seen holding the teenager's arms and legs while placing his knee on the boy's head. The 'Hengaw Human Rights Organization' published this video on its X account on Wednesday, August 8, stating that the name of the hearing-impaired Afghan teenager is 'Mahdi' and that due to the police's violent behavior, 'his neck was broken as a result of the beating.' The report mentions that this Afghan teenager is a 'child laborer' who was 'arrested with severe violence while going to work in agriculture with a number of women' and was 'transferred to a camp, but after they noticed the fracture in his neck, they released this refugee child.' Some Iranian and Afghan users reacted to the release of this report. For instance, 'Hedi Khamosh,' who identifies herself on the X social network as a poet and writer from Afghanistan, deemed the news regarding this incident as 'unforgivable,' stating: 'What has caused the displacement of our people is partly due to fear and hunger and partly due to the crimes of the clerical regime [Islamic Republic] of Iran in supporting the terrorist and fascist group Taliban and failing to support lasting peace and stability in our homeland.' Since the Islamic Republic has restricted the activities of independent and free media in Iran, Voice of America cannot independently verify the details of this report. Meanwhile, the violence of the Islamic Republic's officials and its military and police forces against citizens has been reported multiple times before. In one of the most recent violent encounters involving Islamic Republic agents, a video was released showing police officers beating and violently arresting two teenage girls for not adhering to the government's mandatory hijab. The explanation accompanying this video states that 'the on-duty judge of the Tehran military prosecutor's office ordered the release of this film!'