Two Iranian Protesters Go Public With Allegations of Rape While in Custody

The Iranians have faced rape charges recently in cases of women facing execution as well as the rape of protesters. Now, two protesters have come forward to publicly allege that they were raped as a form of extrajudicial punishment while in Iranian jails following the demonstrations over of the disputed presidential election.

Ibrahim Sharifi, 34, was a student in Tehran who used the Internet to protest the government’s crackdown and was arrested. He says that, on June 22, he was kidnapped, handcuffed, blindfolded and stuffed into a car by three unknown men. He said he was taken to an unknown location, stripped to his underwear and over the course of several days, he was beaten and put through mock executions. At one point, he says a man came into and pointed to him, saying “Take him and get him pregnant.” He says he was raped four times.

Maryam Sabri, 20, said that she was arrested while attending a funeral for Neda Agha-Soltan. She was interrogated and raped.

The Iranian government has called such rape allegations “lies” and said that full investigations showed that such crimes have not occurred.

For the full story, click here