One of the witnesses who testified at the Iran Atrocities Tribunal on Saturday said that her son committed suicide by hanging after his release because of the stress he had suffered while in detention at the time of Iran's November 2019 protests.
The woman, identified as Witness 84, gave evidence via video link with her face covered, on the second day of the new round of hearings at the London-based tribunal.
"My son was arrested on Nov 18, 2019, and was beaten during the time he was detained," Witness 84 testified before the panel, adding he had said that several detainees had been burned alive the night he was held in the IRGC detention.
"Some of the detainees were injured and bleeding but no one paid them any attention," he had told her.
"He was in a terrible state when he got home. I took him to see a psychologist the next day," she continued, and added "The stress he had suffered was so great that he hanged himself only a few days after his release on Nov 22".
The Iran Atrocities Tribunal, also known as the Aban (November) Tribunal, was established by rights groups to investigate the human rights violations committed during the crackdown on the protests of November 2019 in Iran. The tribunal's first round of hearings began in November 2021 and lasted for five days.
More evidence was heard during the second round of the Tribunal's hearings, which kicked off on February 04 and concluded three days later. The recent sessions were held behind closed doors and only a few journalists were allowed to attend in order to protect the witnesses.
The Iran Atrocities Tribunal has so far accused 160 Iranian officials of crimes against humanity during the November 2019 protests, based on the evidence of 440 witnesses.
Among the Islamic Republic officials implicated are the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the former President Hassan Rouhani, and ex-judiciary chief and current President Ebrahim Raisi.
