Torture Behind Bars: Jailed Iranian Man Dies After Falling Into Coma

A 35-year-old Iranian man died in custody due to torture following his arrest eight days ago, a human rights organization says.

Peyman Abdi was apprehended on January 2 by the intelligence department in the predominantly Kurdish city of Kermanshah, and later fell into a coma, the Norway-based group Hengaw reported on January 10. 

It said Abdi passed away on January 9, leaving behind two children, after his transfer to a military hospital.

"On Tuesday, Abdi's family was contacted from 520 Kermanshah Hospital, also known as the Army Hospital, and they were informed that his body was there, ready to be collected," a relative told Hengaw.

Security agencies told the family that the cause of death was "suffocation," but hospital doctors said that Abdi died due to a severe head injury.

Throughout the man’s detention, his family remained uninformed about his condition and whereabouts. 

According to Hengaw, security institutions returned Abdi's body to his family after obtaining a written commitment not to publicize his death. 

The authorities claimed that the reason behind Abdi's arrest was a “conflict with officers,” without providing further details. 

Ethnic and religious minorities in Iran face widespread discrimination in law and practice, arbitrary detention, unjust prosecutions, torture and other ill-treatment