The lawyer of an anti-government Iranian protester sentenced to death says that his client was tortured until he confessed to playing a part in the murder of a security officer.
Mohammad Hosseini and five others have been sentenced to death on charges of killing a Basij militia member during protests in the central Iranian city of Karaj.
Hosseini’s lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, said in a tweet on December 18 that during a meeting his client told him he had been tied up and tortured to obtain a confession.
"He was tortured with his eyes closed and his hands and feet tied. They kicked his head until he fainted and injured different parts of his body with an iron rod and an electroshock weapon," Ardakani said.
Ardakani has previously said that the court had denied him access to case materials to defend his client during the entire interrogation and trial process.
Authorities have accused 16 protesters, including Hosseini, of causing the death of a Basij member during an anti-government demonstration. All of the accused deny the charges, saying they were being targeted for their part in the nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
Five people so far have been handed death sentences in the case, while another 11 people, including three minors, have been given lengthy jail terms.
The incident happened on November 3 in Karaj, the capital of Alborz Province, when mourners were paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi, at a cemetery to mark 40 days after she was killed in the city.
Prosecutors say Ruhollah Ajamian, 27, was stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to Najafi.
Human rights organizations have condemned the death sentences being handed down against these protesters in Iran after what they have termed "sham trials" that were held via three hearings over six days.
Among the others sentenced to death in the case are Hamid Qarahasanlou, a doctor whose brother has said that officers had had severely tortured his sibling and sister-in-law.
Since the death of Amini while she was in police custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly, Iranians have flooded streets across the country to protest against a lack of rights, with women and even schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of December 13, at least 431 protesters had been killed during the unrest, including 68 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization says the number of executions in Iran exceeds 500 this year.