'My Body Was Thrashed': Activist Farmanian Details Torture and Detention

Mohammad Farmanian, 36, was arrested several times by the security forces during various protests over the past decade in Iran. 

Farmanian, a civil rights activist, managed to leave Iran safely some time ago and is now dealing with the difficulties of immigration and the traumas caused by his detention and torture.

"The last time I was arrested was on the anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests," he told IranWire.

"With bail and the help of one of my father's friends, I was released and left the country before the ban.

"I was informed that the judge on my case wanted to give me a strict sentence. I couldn't even imagine enduring another day of what happened to me."

In November 2022, he was arrested on charges of being a leader of the protests, a similar accusation to his 2019 arrest.

"I was previously arrested by IRGC intelligence forces in November 2019, accused of promoting a call for street presence.

"They didn't even let my lawyer see me and claimed I was related to a group of enemies.

"The only evidence for this accusation were pictures of me at the graves of youths who died in the November 2019 protests."

According to Farmanian, he was a familiar face to security officials: "As soon as the slightest incident happened on the street, I was summoned.

"During the 2022 protests, we were writing slogans and were in the street. Unfortunately, some of my friends were identified, and because I was in contact with them when I participated in a meeting with another friend to plan street protests, I was also identified and arrested."

The process of identifying and arresting participants in popular protests in Iran is inconsistent, with law enforcement and security authorities arresting hundreds of protesters, as well as the families of some of those arrested or killed, in areas where protests are likely to occur.

Farmanian recounted one of his arrests while he was on his way back from a meeting.

"A black Toyota SUV stopped. I had never seen this type of car used in arrests before, but later I found out that the Intelligence Corps uses it.

"Officers surrounded our car with guns and, before anything else, they put a bag over my head and my companion's and put us in the Toyota.

"The officer next to me whispered in my ear that if I raised my voice, he would get rid of me right there and no one would know about it.

"I don't know where we went, but after getting out of the car, we walked about a hundred meters and then went down the stairs."

The agents took him down about 150 steps while his eyes and hands were bound, leaving him unaware of where he was being taken.

"My friend and I were separated. I was tied, a bag was pulled over my head, and when it was removed, I was blindfolded.

"I heard a scream from the interrogator who asked about my connections, accusing me of having ties to Mossad.

"We weren't affiliated with any group or faction, and I naturally denied everything.

"As I denied the accusations, they stopped talking and started hitting me. First, they beat me with batons and cables.

"I was bent at the waist with my hands and legs tied, hanging like a yoghurt bag. They hit my legs, hips, body, and back so much that I urinated from the pain."

Recounting these events is not easy for Mohammad. Although he is now safe, remembering what happened fills his dreams with nightmares.

"They had no mercy. Sometimes I passed out or didn't have the energy to react, but they kept hitting.

"They shocked me to wake me up again or poured cold water on my wounded and painful body."

At this point, Farmanian breaks down: "When I urinated, one of them, who I'm sure was mentally ill, made me vomit.

"He pushed my head into the urine on the floor and pressed his boot on my head with all his strength. My whole nose and mouth were covered in blood."

After all the physical abuse, he was transferred to a small cell.

"My body was trashed. The cell was so small that it was impossible to sleep or even sit.

"I had to stand or squat. They did not tolerate this and cut off the water supply. In the week that I was there, I probably didn't sleep more than a few hours.

"During interrogations, sometimes I denied everything, and sometimes I was so exhausted that I accepted everything they said.

"Subversion? Yes. I was so beaten that I just wanted to relax for a few minutes.

"They hit my head with a baton, causing me to faint, and when I regained consciousness, I saw that my back had been stitched."

He heard the officers saying to each other after he regained consciousness, "He's dying. If he dies, dump him somewhere."

In this state, they put papers in front of him and demanded he sign them, threatening rape if he refused.

"I remember well once I said that I hadn't read what was on the pages. The investigator told one of the officers who was hitting me, 'Come on, he seems to be in the mood for a party. Take him to a party.'"

After completing the interrogation process and setting a court date, Mohammad's family secured his release by paying a heavy bail.

"Before my temporary release," Mohammad recounts, "one of the interrogators ominously remarked, 'We'll miss you. No one leaves here alive, you're very lucky.'

This same individual visited me multiple times throughout that week, appearing at the door of my cell at night and midnight, urging me to write a will, implying that my time was up and it was time to face the consequences without mercy or conscience."

Upon his release, Farmanian was immediately taken to the hospital. "My parents were in tears," he recalls.

"Hair had been torn from my wrists and fingers, and my head felt heavy, I couldn't move my neck.

"Nightmares plagued my mind incessantly, and my father stayed by my side at night. When I screamed, he reassured me, saying, 'I'm here with you.' I didn't dare turn off the lights, I was afraid to sleep."