FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, attend an endorsement ceremony in Tehran, Iran, July 28, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS./File Photo
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into the death in custody of a defendant in the northern city of Lahijan, state media reported on Thursday.
"Following the tragic incident in Lahijan, the president ordered the interior minister to form a committee to investigate all aspects of this incident and report its results to the cabinet as soon as possible," the head of government public relations Elias Hazrati said.
Five policemen were arrested by the judiciary in relation to the case, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency, which did not reveal the deceased's name, the charges he was facing, or the date on which he died.
"Following the violation of a citizen's rights, necessary follow-ups were carried out and defendants related to the case were imprisoned based on a temporary arrest warrant," Lahijan's prosecutor, Ebrahim Ansari, said according to Mizan.
Ansari added that forensic pathologists carried out follow-ups to determine the cause of death of the accused, without providing additional information.
Iranian activist rights group Hengaw reported that the deceased, who it identified as 36-year-old Mohammad Mirmousavi, was arrested on Aug. 24 following an altercation and tortured to death on the same day.
Hengaw said this was the seventh case of a death in custody since the start of the year. Reuters could not verify this allegation.
A blurred video was circulated on social media showing the lacerated back of a topless man. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video.
The respect of citizens' rights, including women and minorities, was one of the electoral promises of the relatively moderate Pezeshkian, who won the presidency in July.
In 2022, the death in custody of young Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for flouting Iran's strict hijab laws, sparked months of nationwide protests in what became a major challenge to the Islamic Republic.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson)
