"I Was Brutally Raped"; Amnesty International Report on "Sexual Assault" of Detainees by Islamic Republic Forces

Amnesty International released its latest report early Wednesday on the conditions of opponents of the Islamic Republic and detainees from the protests of 2022, stating that government forces have extensively used sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence to intimidate protesters and dissenters. The detailed report titled "I Was Brutally Raped" cites accounts from 45 detained protesters during the 2022 protests, including 26 men, 12 women, and 7 children, emphasizing that these detainees were subjected to sexual assault or other forms of sexual violence by an officer or a group of officers. The report also highlights that perpetrators of sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence included members of the Revolutionary Guard, Basij paramilitary forces, Ministry of Intelligence agents, and various branches of law enforcement, including public security police, investigative police, and special forces. According to the report, government agents sexually assaulted detained women and girls vaginally, anally, and orally, while boys and men were also subjected to anal rape. Victims were assaulted with wooden and metal batons, glass bottles, hoses, or male officers' body parts and fingers, and these assaults occurred in detention centers, police vans, and also in schools or residential buildings that were illegally repurposed as detention sites. Amnesty International also reported that sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence were often accompanied by other forms of torture and inhumane, degrading treatment, including beatings, flogging, electric shocks, administering unknown pills or injections, deprivation of food and water, and cruel and inhumane detention conditions, preventing victims from receiving medical care and treatment. The organization stated that "most victims told Amnesty International that after their release, they did not file complaints because they feared further harm and believed that the judiciary was not a means of redress but a tool for repression." Amnesty International also examined a leaked official document dated October 13, 2022, which a media outlet outside Iran published in February 2023, confirming that judicial authorities concealed complaints of sexual assault from two young women against two Revolutionary Guard officers during the crackdown on protests, and the Tehran deputy prosecutor recommended that this case be classified as "completely secret" and "closed over time." The Secretary-General of Amnesty International regarding this report and the evidence available to the organization stated: "Our investigations and the horrifying testimonies we have collected prove that the agents of the Islamic Republic used sexual assault to inflict physical and psychological harm on protesters, including children as young as 12, and prosecutors and judges have also participated in these criminal acts by ignoring or covering up the sexual assault complaints of victims." Agnes Callamard added: "We shared our findings with the Iranian authorities on November 24 of this year, but have yet to receive any response from them." She noted: "Without political will and fundamental reforms in Iran's constitution, structural barriers will continue to plague the ailing judiciary of the Islamic Republic, which has repeatedly demonstrated its ineffectiveness and unwillingness to conduct effective investigations. Therefore, in the absence of a prospect for justice within Iran, the international community has a duty to stand with the victims, support the extension of the UN fact-finding mission on Iran, and pursue justice." The Secretary-General of Amnesty International also called on free governments to initiate criminal investigations in their countries against individuals suspected of committing crimes based on the principle of universal jurisdiction with the aim of issuing international arrest warrants.