HERAT CITY (SW) – The Iranian border guards have dumped bodies of dozens of Afghan citizens into the river after torture, some survivors said on Saturday.
One of the survivors told Salam Watandar that the Iranian police had thrown him and 57 of his companions, who were trying to enter Iranian territory, into the river after being tortured. According to him, only 23 of them survived.
Noor Mohammad, another survivor, said they had been detained by Iranian police in the Zulfiqar area of Herat's Gulraan district. He added that the border guards threw everyone into the Harirod River after being tortured. He said 13 bodies were pulled out of the water an hour later.
He told Salam Watandar that Iranian police officers had warned them to "either throw yourself into the river or would be shot." According to Noor Mohammad, he and his companions had spent a day and night in the custody of Iranian border guards before drowning.
Mohammad Asef, a resident of Kashk-e-Robat Sangi district, who came to the public hospital to transport the bodies of his relatives, said Iranian police had thrown his brother and cousin into the river after being tortured.
Abdul Sattar Hosseini, a member of parliament, confirmed the incident and said that 50 Afghan citizens had been tortured by the Iranian border police and then thrown into the river.
He confirmed the deaths of 12 people and said that 13 people had been rescued so far and the rest are missing.
Aref Jalali, a physician at the Herat public hospital, told Salam Watandar that the bodies of five people have been transferred to the hospital so far. He added that one of the bodies sank after being injured and the rest died due to drowning.
Jilani Farhad, spokesman for the governor of Herat, said investigation into the incident has begun.
However, the Iranian consulate in Herat denied the arrest and drowning of 57 Afghan nationals. In a statement, it said that Iranian police had no role in the incident.
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