The Body of Saro Ghahramani Delivered to His Family

According to reports from Iran, security forces delivered the body of Saro Ghahramani to his family on Saturday, nearly two weeks after he went missing during the protests in January. A message from the "Committee for Following Up on Arrests of 96" on social media stated that the security forces handed over the body of Saro Ghahramani, a citizen of Sanandaj, to his parents. It was reported that on Saturday, January 13, the Ghahramani family and his body were sent by ambulance to "Behesht Mohammadiyeh" in Sanandaj. The burial ceremony was also held without the presence of other family members. Reports indicate that Saro Ghahramani was 24 years old and had been "arrested" 11 days prior to the delivery of his body. No official from the Islamic Republic has provided an explanation regarding the circumstances of this Sanandaji citizen's death. Mahmoud Salehi, a labor activist in Kurdistan, previously announced on his Facebook page that he lost his kidneys in May 2015 due to the negligence of the Sanandaj Intelligence Detention Center officials. However, no news regarding the follow-up on this matter has been published in Iranian media, and the Ministry of Intelligence or the spokesperson for Hassan Rouhani's government has not reacted to it since then. Before the reports about Saro Ghahramani, the deaths of at least three detainees from the recent widespread protests in Iran had been reported or confirmed. Iranian officials recently confirmed the deaths of Sina Ghanbari in solitary confinement in Evin Prison and Vahid Heydari in a detention center in Arak, stating that they had "committed suicide." Mohsen Adeli, another citizen, is reported to have died in Dezful Prison. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also stated on Saturday that "three detainees" from the recent protests had died "in Iranian prisons," and members of the Assembly are "following up on the matter." Although Mr. Motahari also mentioned that the cause of death reported for these three individuals was "suicide." The news of the "suicide" of detainees comes amid reports from the Iran Human Rights Campaign, citing relatives of Vahid Heydari, that when his body was viewed, signs of beatings and bruises were observed on his head. Simultaneously, Mahmoud Sadqi, another member of parliament, warned on his Twitter account about the recurrence of a "Kahrizak II," referring to the deaths of several protesters in the Kahrizak detention center in Tehran in 2009. Amnesty International has also called for "immediate investigations" into reports of several "suicides" in Iranian prisons following the arrests of protesters in Iran. During the widespread protests in Iran, harsh slogans were directed against the leaders and domestic and regional policies of the Islamic Republic, with over 3,700 people arrested and the deaths of at least 22 to 25 confirmed. Reports published on social media and Radio Farda indicate the likelihood of an increase in the number of protesters who have "committed suicide" in prison, protests by the families of prisoners in front of Evin Prison against widespread arrests, and Amnesty International's call for immediate investigations into "suicides" in Iranian prisons. "The family of Vahid Heydari has been threatened."