Sattar Beheshti

Sattar Beheshti was an Iranian blogger believed to have been tortured to death by Iranian authorities in Evin prison. The week before his death, he was arrested for criticizing the Iranian government on Facebook. His reported death has drawn international condemnation.

Reaction

Beheshti's death has been condemned by a number of governments and human rights organizations.

Governments

• The U.S. State Department called on Iran to investigate the murder of Beheshti: "We are appalled by reports that Iranian authorities tortured and killed blogger and activist Sattar Beheshti during a prison interrogation. Besheshti had been arrested for a crime no greater than expressing his political opinion online. We join the international community in demanding the Iranian government investigate this murder, hold accountable those responsible for Beheshti's arrest, torture, and killing, and immediately cease all reported harassment of Beheshti’s family."
• A French foreign ministry spokesman said that Paris was "profoundly shocked" by the death of Beheshti and called on "the Iranian authorities to shed as much light as possible on the circumstances of his death. The repression of peacefully expressed dissident voices in Iran is unacceptable."
• The spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said, "We call upon Iran to immediately clarify his status and treatment. Iran must comply with its domestic and international human rights obligations."

Human rights organizations

• Amnesty International: "The Iranian authorities must investigate the circumstances that led to the death of a blogger in detention in the capital Tehran... 'Fears that Sattar Beheshti died as a result of torture in an Iranian detention facility, after apparently lodging a complaint about torture are very plausible, given Iran’s track record when it comes to deaths in custody,' said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director."
• Committee to Protect Journalists: "Iranian authorities must immediately explain the sudden death of imprisoned blogger Sattar Beheshti, who had previously complained about severe mistreatment in custody... CPJ also demands that the government launch a full investigation into the suspicious death and to immediately halt its intense harassment of the victim's family."
• Reporters Without Borders said it was "deeply shocked to learn of the death... of the netizen Sattar Beheshti. The organization called on "Iranian authorities to clarify the exact circumstances of the netizen’s death" and implored "the international community not to allow this crime to go unpunished."