Men and women forced to strip naked in front of officers,
touched on the genitals, threatened with rape and in some cases raped
.
These are the heartbreaking stories told to Iran International by some protesters who suffered sexual harassment and violence while detained by the security forces in Iran.
Male and female victims,
including some as young as 18, reported that sexual violence against detained protesters is widespread
.
Their stories "are very difficult to verify due to the victims' fear of revealing personal information and retaliation against them and their families," Iran International points out.
One of the victims said she and other arrestees were stripped naked in front of officers at the Vali Asr garrison in Tehran,
groped in the genital area, sprayed with cold water and tasered to force them to make "confessions" against themselves and others.
others
.
"They threatened us with rape," said the victim, released on bail after twenty days.
"There were two female and two male officers in the van. The man searched us in the most disgusting way," another Tehran woman said.
A victim in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad said she and 11 other people were stripped naked in front of officers and then forced to squat while the officers "laughed".
Others reported being touched during arrest and interrogation, and threatened with rape against themselves or their families
.
And there are some reports of far worse violence: Armita Abbasi, a young woman in her 20s, was reportedly brutally raped after being arrested on 10 October.
She was taken to a Karaj hospital on October 18 by the security forces with multiple injuries including internal bleeding, a shaved head and evidence of repeated rape.
The episodes - reports Iran International -
were reported from detention centers, prisons and sometimes in places outside the official system
such as warehouses in various large cities.