Iranian security forces have ‘illegally killed, sexually assaulted and tortured children’

Secondary school student says she was beaten and whipped while interrogated and her clothes were set on fire when security forces pushed her onto a lit gas range

Women’s rights are profoundly restricted in Iran (AFP via Getty)

Security forces in Iran clamping down on demonstrations have illegally killed, sexually assaulted, and tortured children, with some detained for weeks without their families being informed, campaigners have warned.

Human Rights Watch said this constitutes a “pattern of serious violations” as it warned that Iranian authorities had infringed human rights while arresting, interrogating, and prosecuting children.

The prominent global campaign group has documented instances of government security forces “restraining, blindfolding, and torturing” children held in detention – stating that some of the families of children being held by security forces were not informed that they were in custody.