Amnesty, rapes as a means to stop protests in Iran

Pto intimidate and punish those who demonstrated in a peaceful manner during the 2022 Donna Vita Libertà movement uprising, Iranian security agents they used rape. He writes it down in black and white Amnesty International in a new report with chilling implications.

Amnesty: rape used to repress protests

The report tells the harrowing experiences of 45 people who survived26 men, 12 women and seven minors, to the inhumane forms of sexual violence by secret service agents following their arrest for having participated in the demonstration for the death of Mahsa Aminiguilty of not having worn the veil well.

The testimonies of horror

«The dramatic testimonies we have collected they represent only part of the repressive system implemented by the Iranian authorities to repress protests and dissent” declared Agnés Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. «Iranian magistrates and judges have become complicit in this system. Not only by ignoring or covering up reports of rape, but also by using confessions extracted through torture to make false accusations against survivors. To then sentence them to death or prison” writes Amnesty. «And the people who survived were left with only institutionalized impunity, silence and the profound signs of multiple physical and psychological scars».

The victims were women who refused to wear the veil

THE responsible for rapes and other forms of sexual violence they include agents of the Revolutionary Guards, the paramilitary Basij militia and the secret service. As well as the Public Security Police, the Police Investigation Unit and the Special Police Forces. The victims include women and girls who refused to wear the headscarf. And men and boys who took to the streets to express their outrage at decades of gender discrimination and oppression.

Violence as a method

«The extent of the sexual violence that occurred during the protests of the Donna Vita Libertà movement is difficult to estimate – continues Callamard – as the stigma and fear of the consequences usually lead to people not reporting. However, Amnesty International has documented in detail 45 cases in more than half of Iranian provinces, adding to reports from other survivors and former detainees of additional cases of rape and other sexual violence against dozens of imprisoned protesters. This confirms that the documented violence is part of a larger system». On 24 November 2023, Amnesty International sent the findings of its research to the Iranian authorities, but to date has not received any response.

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