(Beirut) – Iranian security forces tortured and killed Mohammad Mirmousavi, a detainee from Lahijan in Gilan province, on August 22, 2024, according to media reports. Authorities reportedly arrested Mirmousavi for participating in a street fight.
President Masoud Pezeshkian instructed the Minister of Interior on August 29 to promptly establish a delegation to Lahijan to investigate the circumstances that led to Mirmousavi’s death. The Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Command, Ahmad-Reza Radan, dismissed the police chief of Lahijan for failing to adequately supervise the police staff.
Human Rights Watch and other groups have documented deaths and torture in Iranian detention for years. The following quote can be attributed to Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch:
“Mohammad Mirmousavi's reported death under torture poses a critical choice for President Pezeshkian of whether to continue to allow gross impunity for security forces or to actually credibly investigate and hold any perpetrators accountable. From Mahsa Jina Amini to Mohammad Mirmousavi, Iran has had an entrenched pattern of torture of anyone taken into custody that the new president needs to fix.”
