Number of torture deaths following Iran protests rises to 11

Another Iranian protestor, Khalid Kayseri, who served 20 days in detention in Kermanshah prison died after being tortured by the intelligence service there, Iranian human rights groups have reported. This brings the number of demonstrators who have died in Iranian prisons to 11 since the start of the uprising on December 28.

The campaign ‘No Arrests and Executions’ said on their website that the Kurdish citizen was killed last Saturday, after being tortured and held in a secret detention where he was placed under investigation after his arrest in the popular demonstrations in Kermanshah. Police informed the family of his arrest and death after his 20-day detention.

The government claimed that Kayseri died from a drug overdose in prison, which is the same reasoning they used to cover the deaths of other demonstrators who were tortured and killed in prisons, the group added.

Security around the cemetery

According to the group, Kayseri’s body was buried in his family’s attendance and a number of intelligence agents who imposed tight security around the cemetery of the city of Kermanshah.

Since the beginning of the Iranian people’s uprising in December 28, 10 people died after being tortured in prisons, and 25 were shot dead by security forces during the protests.

One of the demonstrators who was killed in prison was found in a river with visible torture marks on his body. Authorities left the body of another in front of his father’s home.

Iranian parliament member Ali Reza Rahimi had said that the authorities arrested about 5,000 people during the recent protests which took place in more than 100 cities in different parts of the country.