It has been reported that 16,500 Iranian protesters have been killed by security forces.
Iran protests (Image: Getty)
Iranian protesters have been subjected to horrifying torture, according to reports, as rights groups continue to raise the alarm over human rights violations in the country. Detainees held in Iranian prisons have reported severe mistreatment, including forced nudity, exposure to freezing conditions, and injections with unidentified substances, according to a source close to a protester's family who spoke to Iran International.
The source added that a young protester currently in custody managed to send a message depicting the mistreatment he and others allegedly endured after their arrest. According to the account, prison officers demanded that detainees strip naked in the prison courtyard and left them outdoors for an extended period in the cold. The detainee horrifyingly added that officers sprayed the prisoners with cold water using a hose.
Protestors gather outside the Iranian embassy (Image: Getty)
He added that on his second day him and several other detainees were injected with substances that were not explained or identified by prison staff.
Rights groups have raised alarm over the fate of more than 20,000 protesters believed to have been arrested since demonstrations began in late December, warning of possible mistreatment in custody.
Protests erupted on the streets of Iran in December over the country's ailing economy, but quickly shifted to oust the Mullah regime that has ruled with an iron fist since 1979.
Since the beginning of the current protests 3,766 people have been killed and 8,949 other reported deaths are under investigation, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Khamenei has blamed the deaths on US- and Israel-linked “terrorists and rioters,” which Iran's judiciary on Sunday said constituted "Mohareb". Mohareb carries the death penalty.
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Last weekIn a post shared on Truth Social on Tuesday, President Donald Trump urged protesters to carry on with their protests and "take over institutions".
He wrote: "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"