Further probe into anonymous burials

Tehran city council has put a committee in charge of investigating the burial of unidentified bodies at Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery. The committee was formed following reports of the burial of 44 unidentified victims from the post-election crackdown on protesters in plot 302 of the cemetery.

While officials have confirmed the existence of the anonymous graves, they have not connected them with any secret burial of protesters.

ILNA reported that Tehran Mayor claimed the DNA signatures of the unidentified dead have already been recorded and it is possible to identify them in the future.

Green Wave of Freedom website, the pro-reform website, named Saideh Pouraghai as one of the buried. They claim the victim was burned with acid after suffering rape and her body was secretly buried at the said plot. His family, according to this website, has been forced by the authorities to claim “kidney disease” was the cause of her death.

Green Wave of Freedom claims the buried are chiefly rape victims of the Iranian security forces. The website also claims that a mass grave was also used to bury a large group of recent protesters.

In the past two months thousands of people were arrested as government forces tried to put down nationwide protests to the outcome of the Iranian presidential elections. Many detainees were killed and tortured. Some are still missing.