Alarming reports from Iran say more detained protesters have died while in custody, with one prominent human rights defender putting the total number at five.
Previously, various sources, including two members of parliament had confirmed the death of one detainee in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Unnamed security officials had claimed the cause had been a “suicide”.
On Tuesday morning, Human Rights Campaign announced the names of two detainees who died in provinces; Vahid Heydari in Arak and Mohsen Adeli in Dezful.
Later, on Tuesday, a prominent human rights defender, Nasrin Sotoudeh told Radio Farda’s Mossadegh Katouzian that according to information she has, two more detainees have died in the quarantine section of Evin and authorities claim these too were cases of suicide.
The media office of Iran’s prisons’ agency has told Etemad Online that they have no reports about a person named Mohsen Adeli having died in custody.
The Tehran Province prosecutor, however, has admiited that Heydari has dies in Arak, again insisting that he committed suicide.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a reformist member of parliament announced that 3,700 people have been arrested during the protests. Previously authorities had announced the arrests of 1,700 individuals.