Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti, who was arrested 10 days ago by Iran’s cyber police, has reportedly been killed while in custody.
The Kaleme opposition website says prisoners in ward 350 of Evin Prison have reported that the 35-year-old blogger, who was arrested on October 28 at his mother’s home in south Tehran, was held in their ward for one night, and his body showed signs of extreme beating and abuse.
The Beheshti family was informed yesterday by authorities that their son was dead and his remains would be available the following day.
Beheshti’s sister has told Kaleme that the authorities claimed he suffered from a heart condition, but she insists her brother was in complete good health prior to his arrest.
The family has picked up his body from the Kahrizak coroner’s office, the detention centre that became notorious after the story broke that post-election protesters had died there under torture and abuse by Kahrizak officials.
The report also indicates that the family was not permitted to attend the preparation of the body for burial.
The Baztab website has reported on the death of the blogger, saying: “The sad passing of this young man is reminiscent of bitter memories of the deaths of Zahra Kazemi in Evin Prison, and Zahra Bani-Yaghoub, the physician killed in Hamadan, the death of Haleh Sahabi and the Kahrizak file, which so far has had no closure.”
Sattar Beheshti’s sister told Kaleme that she has been warned by authorities not to speak to the media; however, she claims that she is certain that her brother was killed in prison.
