The detained Kurdish civilians Musa Esmaeili and Peyman Galvani have been tortured to death over the past two days in the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, north-west Iran.
Esmaeili, a 31-year-old father of two, was arrested by security forces on 7 May in the village of Pasveh in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province, and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh.
Two months later, on 8 July, Esmaeili’s father was summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence and told that his son had “lost his life under torture”.
During his detention, Esmaeili was denied the right to legal counsel and family visits.
The security forces have so far refused to return the civilian’s body to his family and have threatened the family not to hold a funeral.
Throughout this period, Esmaeili’s family repeatedly went to the court and to the security agencies in Piranshahr and Orumiyeh, but no clear answer was given about his situation.
The security forces announced that Esmaeili had been accused of “membership of a Kurdish opposition party”.
Separately, 24-year-old Peyman Galvani, from Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, was arrested without a warrant by security forces on 25 June and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh.
On 5 July, Galvani was transferred to Khomeini Hospital in Orumiyeh in a state of unconsciousness and died four days later, on 9 July, due to the severity of his injuries.
After the civilian was admitted to hospital, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence told the family by telephone that their son had been hospitalised after “falling from a height”.
However, when Galvani’s family arrived at the hospital and insisted on visiting him for a few minutes, they noticed bruises on his body.
The civilian’s hands and feet were reportedly tied to the bed by the security officers who were with him in the hospital.
The family denied the security agents’ claims and said their son had been tortured to death in the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh.
Galvani, who got married about seven month ago, died on 9 July and his body has not yet been returned to his family.
Galvani was reportedly a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) for a few months, but returned to Mahabad about three years ago after leaving the party and receiving a letter of safe conduct to return to Iran.
