Voice of America Investigative Report | Sexual Assault of at Least 11 Detained Boys and Girls During 2022 Protests in Mazandaran - Part One

The Persian section of Voice of America has uncovered evidence regarding the sexual assault, rape, and abuse of several detained women and men during the protests of 2022 in detention centers and prisons of the Islamic Republic in several cities in northern Iran. Voice of America's exclusive report will be published in three parts. According to this investigation, at least 11 cases of sexual assault, rape, and abuse have been verified in the cities of Sari, Babol, and Amol. However, it is estimated that the actual number of such incidents in detention centers and prisons is much higher; especially since the disclosure of these cases typically poses difficulties for whistleblowers due to security reasons and the sensitivity of the security and intelligence apparatus of the Islamic Republic, as was recently the case with Dina Qalibaf, a journalist, after she disclosed her sexual assault during her detention in April of this year. Based on verified investigations by Voice of America regarding the city of Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province, one male detainee, approximately 20 years old, was arrested by plainclothes agents of the Islamic Republic during protests against the killing of Mahsa Amini at the end of September 2022. He was taken to Police Station 14 in Ma'lam Square and then transferred to the Sari Intelligence Office. He stated that during his detention in solitary confinement, he was forced to strip naked during one of the interrogations, and after being tortured with a cable and beaten, he was raped with 'a foreign object.' This young man reported noticing bleeding from his anus after being transferred to solitary confinement. A few days later, one of his interrogators told him in the interrogation room that a video had been recorded of the assault and that if he spoke about it outside the detention center, it would be released. Another man, around 30 years old, was also transferred to the Sari Intelligence Office after being arrested in the early days of October 2022. He indicated that plainclothes forces stopped his car and arrested him. He said, 'After my arrest, I was taken to the Sari Intelligence Office. There, I was immediately taken to the interrogation room after a few hours, and two individuals began to interrogate me.' He recounted that the two interrogators immediately started the questioning and then took him to another room where three individuals beat him and subsequently raped him with a foreign object. Another approximately 20-year-old man in Mazandaran stated that he was arrested by law enforcement officers for chanting slogans and participating in protests and was taken to Police Station 14. After being beaten there, he was transferred to the 'Karbala Corps' base in Sari, where he was again beaten. One of the detained protesters said, 'During the first interrogation at the Karbala Corps base, I was raped by two individuals. This happened again a few days later in the same place.' This young man added, 'After being transferred to solitary confinement, I was not given food or water for two days, which caused me severe weakness.' He noted, 'During the first interrogation, I was raped by two individuals,' and added, 'This happened again a few days later at the same base.' However, the beatings of this detained protester continued: 'Later, during one of the interrogations, my shoulder was broken, and I was taken to a hospital in Sari. In the hospital, my family was able to find me.' This young man was released but stated, 'After being discharged from the hospital, I received several threatening phone calls about kidnapping and further rape.' In recent decades, reports have emerged regarding sexual assault or rape against detained protesters or threats of such actions to exert pressure on them or force them to 'confess' or cooperate with security agencies. The latest of these reports can be referenced in the BBC World report about Nika Shakerami. Ja'vid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, also mentioned in his final report to the UN Human Rights Council on March 19 last year that it is 'very distressing and heartbreaking' that government officials, with complete impunity, have illegally killed at least 48 women and 68 children and have injured a large number of women and girls during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, with very concerning reports of rape, torture, and other forms of sexual violence to punish these protesters. Following that, the Human Rights Watch organization reported on May 3 that the security forces of the Islamic Republic subjected detainees to rape, torture, and sexual assaults during the suppression of protests. This organization emphasized that these severe abuses are part of a widespread pattern of serious human rights violations to suppress dissent. Amnesty International also reported in Esfand 1401 that it had obtained documentation showing that detained protesting children in Iran were subjected to brutal suppression and abuse, including electric shocks and sexual violence. Such actions have been carried out by government forces despite Article 38 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution stating: 'Any form of torture for obtaining confessions or information is prohibited, forcing a person to testify, confess, or swear is not permitted, and such testimony and confession are without value and credibility. Violators of this principle shall be punished according to law.' Furthermore, according to Article 578 of the Islamic Penal Code, enacted in 1375, 'Any of the judicial or non-judicial government officials who physically harm a suspect to force them to confess shall be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years, and if someone has ordered this, only the order-giver shall be punished with the aforementioned imprisonment, and if the suspect dies due to the harm, the perpetrator shall be punished as a murderer, and the order-giver shall be punished as an instigator of murder.' Rape during suppression has become an institutionalized behavior within the structure of the Islamic Republic, so much so that in Azar 1401, CNN reported that its investigations had uncovered documents showing that the Islamic Republic uses sexual assault as a tool for torturing detainees during nationwide protests. The report indicated that 'Iranian security forces use sexual assault to suppress protests.' This report reflects four decades of rape in the prisons and detention centers of the Islamic Republic, which other international bodies have repeatedly emphasized. Parts two and three of this investigative report will be published in the coming days.