A five-minute-long video (Persian link) circulated on the Internet among Iranian activists shows the Iranian regime’s masked police forces publicly abusing and beating a group of young Iranians while parading them through the streets, handcuffed in the back of an open vehicle.

The incident took place in the streets of the capital city of Tehran, according to the Al-Mesryoon news site (Arabic link). Iranian activists protested against the incident on social networks and said it was a blatant violation of the laws which prohibit torture of detainees by police.

At one point, the police forces grab and cut branches off trees and force the youth to eat them. The masked officers also hit the young men on the head, slap them in the face, and pull their hair.

According to a recent report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the Iranian regime’s State Security Forces arrest thousands of young men and women in the street every year, under the pretext of implementing “The Public Security Plan”:

The youth are arrested under many different pretexts, some of which include improper clothing, having tattoos, alcohol consumption, disregarding curfews and disrespect towards security agents. The surge in humiliating punishments and executions, among other violations of human rights in Iran since Hassan Rouhani has become president, are aimed at spreading fear and intimidation among the public, particularly to the youth and women.

In June, Iran arrested three people for participating in a “vulgar” celebration after they appeared in a video celebrating the country’s World Cup appearance. A number of Iranians who lip-synced the Pharrell Williams song “Happy” in a video were arrested in the spring; six of them were subsequently sentenced to lashes.

[Photo: Freedom Messenger / YouTube ]