The gruesome death of 48-year-old Ghafar Akbari in Malekan has revealed the deeply entrenched brutality of Iran’s clerical regime, a dictatorship that has long relied on violence and repression to silence dissent and maintain power. Akbari’s death under torture while in police custody is part of a systemic pattern of human rights abuses that highlight the regime’s utter disregard for justice and human dignity.
Akbari, a father of four from the village of Yulqunlu near Malekan, was arrested on November 8, 2024, as a suspect in a year-and-a-half-old murder case. Alongside four others, he was detained despite a lack of evidence connecting him to the crime. During his detention, Akbari was subjected to horrific torture, including being hung upside down, left in wet clothes in freezing temperatures, and denied food and water for extended periods. His toenails were removed, and he was beaten so severely that he required urgent medical care.
The regime’s agents pressured Akbari to confess, threatening to accuse him of unrelated crimes, such as the assassination of foreign figures. After hours of inhumane treatment, he was coerced into admitting guilt. Akbari later recanted his confession before a prosecutor, stating it was extracted under torture, but the regime escalated the abuse, ordering “technical interrogation”—a euphemism for intensified torture.
#Iranian regime's Supreme Leader has called on senior state officials to support police brutality and take a stance against #IranRevoIution. Watch and judge the reaction he received and what that means for the regime's future. pic.twitter.com/GzGtzUo0YV
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 24, 2022
Despite his critical condition, Akbari was transferred to solitary confinement in Maragheh prison, where medical staff repeatedly warned that he needed immediate hospitalization. These pleas were ignored until it was too late. Akbari was eventually sent to Sina Hospital in Maragheh, where he died on November 16 after two days in a coma. His death underscores the regime’s lethal combination of unchecked violence and deliberate medical neglect.
The regime moved swiftly to suppress the fallout from Akbari’s death. Security forces threatened his family into silence and orchestrated a rushed nighttime burial with only 20 minutes’ notice—an unusual and culturally unacceptable act in the region, intended to stifle public outcry. Despite this, a significant number of local residents attended the burial, defying the regime’s efforts to suppress dissent.
A banner celebrating the police for Akbari’s arrest was hastily removed from Malekan after news of his death spread, further highlighting the regime’s desperate attempts to control the narrative.
News of Akbari’s death sparked outrage in Malekan, where citizens gathered outside the judiciary office to demand justice. The regime responded with its typical heavy-handedness, deploying riot police and plainclothes agents to suppress the protests and enforce a climate of fear. The local prosecutor reportedly fled the scene as tensions escalated, underscoring the regime’s inability to justify its actions in the face of growing public anger.
#Iran News in Brief
A 25-year young died while in custody at a police station in #Tehran. Family suspects torture as the cause of death. https://t.co/OCeui7lrLn pic.twitter.com/vb9iTrLiYn
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 13, 2022
Akbari’s case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of systemic violence under Iran’s clerical dictatorship. Recent months have seen other detainees die under similar circumstances, with no accountability for the perpetrators. Officials have admitted that deaths in custody are a recurring issue, yet the regime continues to rely on torture and coerced confessions to fabricate legal cases and intimidate the population.
Under Iranian law, the safety of detainees is the responsibility of the arresting body. However, the regime consistently violates its own laws, and confessions obtained under torture remain a legal basis for severe penalties, including execution. This widespread use of violence is not a sign of strength but a reflection of a regime clinging to power through fear and brutality.
The killing of Ghafar Akbari exposes the regime’s desperation to maintain control at all costs. However, the growing anger among the Iranian people, as seen in Malekan and elsewhere, signals a society increasingly unwilling to accept the regime’s abuses.
Akbari’s tragic death is not just a human rights violation; it is a stark reminder of the cost of living under a dictatorship that has clung to power through force and brutality. By relying on systematic repression, the regime is inadvertently compelling the people to confront it with the same force, setting the stage for an inevitable reckoning with its long history of oppression and violence.
