Two activists die in Iranian prison after being tortured for participating in the protests

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Two more civilians, arrested during the recent protests in Iran, have died while incarcerated due to the use of excessive torture by the prison guards, Iranian human rights organizations reported on Saturday.

One of the activists was named Saro Qahraman, a 24-year-old Kurdish activist from Sanandaj (Sine), held in prison in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat), while the other one was named Ali Poladi, 26-year-old from Chalus city in northern Iran, according to rights groups.

A Committee responsible for overseeing the detainees also confirmed the death of both activists.

Human rights reports claim they were both arrested by Iranian intelligence forces for participating in the country-wide protests which began on December 28.

The number of prisoners who have been tortured to death in Iranian prisons in the past ten days has reached six, according to sources within the government.

On Saturday, the family of Qahraman was asked to retrieve his body from prison.

One of Qahraman’s relatives stated on social media that they had no information about him until Friday at midnight when they received a call from the prison staff, informing the family about his death.

The family relative also mentioned that bruises on Qahraman’s body were evidence of extreme torture, stating the family has been threatened not to comment on Qahraman’s death to any news outlets.

During the latest protests to rock Iran, 22 to 25 people were killed, and over 4,000 more protesters were arrested across the country.

Editing by Nadia Riva