Iranian writer Hamid Asefi beaten unconscious by intelligence agents in Tehran raid

Iranian writer Hamid Asefi was not home on the afternoon of 5 March when armed intelligence agents stormed his Tehran apartment, breaking down the door with a sledgehammer and axe. After searching unit to unit, they encountered him as he returned to the building.

One of the agents drew his handgun, shouted at him to stop, and struck him on the back of the neck and spine with the butt of his weapon before dragging him inside, Asefi told the Guardian in a written interview.

When he asked for an arrest warrant, the beating grew worse. Heavy blows landed on his ribs, kidneys, temples and the back of his head. He lost consciousness once, and the assault resumed when he came to.

The assault continued after he was taken blindfolded to a detention centre. An interrogator accused him of signing a statement condemning the regime’s January crackdown on protesters and of contact with the Israeli government. He denied signing any such statement and was later released, told his arrest had been an administrative error.

Three weeks later, Asefi was rushed to hospital. An MRI showed extensive bleeding on his brain. He underwent surgery and is recovering.

His case is one of several emerging from Iran as internet restrictions ease. In addition to those arrested over the January protests, political prisoners and journalists have been detained since the war began. Interviews with detainees, relatives and rights groups describe torture, beatings, starvation and deaths in custody.

Amnesty International has documented torture and ill-treatment of detainees since 28 February, including mock executions, severe beatings, suspension by the hands and feet, prolonged solitary confinement, and denial of food and medical care.

Mehnaz, a 23-year-old protester, was detained days before the first attack by the US and Israel on 28 February. She was taken to Qarchak prison over social media posts. For more than two weeks she faced repeated interrogations and was denied food and water. She lost 8 kilos. More than 80 women shared her overcrowded ward, and the bathrooms were so unsanitary she asked relatives for adult diapers.

Hesam Alaeddin, a 40-year-old father of two, was arrested in April in Tehran during a search for Starlink devices. His family searched for weeks after he disappeared into the prison system. They were told he had been moved each time they inquired. Weeks later they were called to collect his body. Relatives said not a single bone was intact.

Mojgan, a Tehran-based rights activist, said five masked agents beat her over the head with a gun during a January protest arrest and broke her toe. Journalist Vida Rabbani was arrested on 31 January for signing a statement condemning the crackdown. She was taken to Sari intelligence detention centre, where she was beaten. Her husband said she had extensive bruises and hair pulled out for refusing compulsory hijab. Rabbani said a male interrogator sexually assaulted her and that she now suffers panic attacks and insomnia.