Tehran Police Confirm Video of Violent Behavior Towards Another Citizen by Their Officers

Just a few days after acknowledging the death of Mohammad Mir Mousavi at a police station, Tehran police confirmed the video released showing the violent interaction of patrol officers with another citizen. This law enforcement agency stated on Saturday evening, September 10, that the video belongs to September 5 of this year, and in a statement, it announced that the behavior of the police officers was 'unprofessional and unconventional' and that 'the capital's police have reprimanded the duty officers and the personnel present at the scene.' The statement mentioned that the citizen seen in the footage is a 'manifest addict' who, during transfer, 'throws himself into a water ditch,' and the officers 'intended to transfer him to the trunk to avoid contaminating the inside of the vehicle.' In a video taken and published by another citizen, two police officers and a conscript are seen trying to violently and for an extended period to place a citizen into the trunk of a police car in a public place, an action that meets resistance from this citizen. These images were released just days after human rights media reported the death of Mohammad Mir Mousavi, a citizen from Lahijan, while in police custody due to torture. Following the widespread release of videos showing numerous wounds on Mr. Mousavi's body in media and social networks, the Lahijan prosecutor announced the arrest of five individuals in connection with this case, and Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, called for the Interior Minister to follow up. In response to increased public reaction to this incident, the police announced the dismissal of the Lahijan police chief on the morning of September 10. Numerous reports of assault and death of citizens in police custody have been published before, and these incidents come on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of the morality police. Javad Rouhi, one of the detainees from the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, also suspiciously died in Nowshahr prison on September 9 last year, and the Islamic Republic's judiciary announced the cause of his death as 'drug interaction.' Previously, several other political prisoners have died in Iranian prisons, including Sattar Beheshti, a blogger, and victims of the Kahrizak detention center in 2009.