Torture of Disabled Individuals with Chains and Dogs in an Alborz Care Center

The Mehr News Agency has reported that one of the care centers for disabled individuals was shut down a few months ago due to "proven torture and abuse," and the parents of "a large number" of these disabled individuals have filed complaints against the center's manager. The report mentions statements from the parents of several mentally and physically disabled individuals at the center, as well as inspectors' reports, citing instances of "beating," "dog therapy," and "chain therapy" as examples of the "torture" inflicted on the disabled individuals in this center. The news agency also published an unnamed image of a report from the medical organization of Alborz province regarding "impact from a hard object" and several cases of "scratches" on the body of one of these disabled individuals. According to the report, Ms. Safaie, the foster mother of a disabled individual named Ali, realized in 2013 that her foster child had been "beaten" at this center, but she could not prove the "violations that occurred" until ultimately the director of the Alborz Welfare Organization discovered through surveillance footage that disabled individuals were "chained to their beds and beaten." Ms. Safaie quoted her disabled son, who "can speak," as saying that "one night they set a dog on him, and he fled in fear, injuring his shoulder in the process." Ali, who according to his foster mother is "borderline and quite alert," stated: "Its name was Barfi. It was a big white dog, and I will never forget its teeth. I was very scared. They didn’t dare chain my hands, but they did for the others. Once a nurse forgot to unchain them, and the kids were chained to their beds until noon." The report also mentions that one day a staff member "fell on" one of the disabled individuals and attempted to "suffocate" him. Some parents of disabled individuals had noticed "bruises or wounds" on their children since 2011 but did not believe that "these symptoms were due to beatings." The report highlights a "severe cut on the stomach" of a 20-year-old mentally and physically disabled individual named Sina, describing it as "evidence of torture" at the center. Vahid Abdolhosseini, Sina's father, told Mehr News Agency that since 2013 he had noticed "bite marks, beatings, and bruises" on his son's hands and body. Sina was in a "coma" four days after the center was closed. According to the report, this care center, which is not named in the report, began operating in 2000 with a license from the Alborz Welfare Organization and later expanded its operations "with the help of benefactors and fees collected from parents," caring for 139 disabled individuals. However, Mr. Farzin, a former manager of the center, stated that after its closure, instead of 139 individuals, there were 125 disabled individuals in the center, "meaning that the death toll has not been reported." According to Mr. Farzin, the center was illegally charging 500,000 tomans per month for the care of each disabled individual instead of the legal rate of 370,000 tomans. Ms. Mohammadi, a psychologist who worked with the center for a month, also told Mehr News Agency: "Once for repairs, they gathered the beds, and the kids had to stand all day and barely sleep at night. I protested a lot, but received no response, so I resigned." Meanwhile, a caregiver at the center stated that the disabled individuals only ate "soaked dry bread" and that donated meats and chickens "did not enter the kitchen of the center." Officials from the Welfare Organization have not yet responded to the Mehr News Agency's report. Private care centers for disabled individuals operate with the permission of the Welfare Organization. According to the website of the Welfare Organization of the whole country, in Tehran province, with the permission of the Welfare Organization, 11 centers operate for the care of mentally disabled individuals under 14 years old and 25 centers for those over 14 years old. Some care centers for disabled individuals in Iran are also run as charities, and the websites of Iranian charities list more than 140 institutions caring for disabled individuals.