Four men believed to be “Islamic Republic loyalists” were arrested in a western German town for attempting to gangrape an Iranian dissident in an attack that shocked the city, according to reports by the German media.
This is horrifying. An Iranian dissident man was gang-raped in Germany by four men who are believed to be Islamic Republic supporters.https://t.co/gNFyfXSCmw
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) September 10, 2024
The incident occurred on the night of September 7th at an abandoned brewery site in Iserlohn, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that it is being investigated as a politically motivated crime.
Witnesses alerted the authorities after they were alarmed by the victim’s screams. The authorities quickly responded, and emergency services found the dissident man tied up and severely abused. He was rushed immediately to a hospital, but the full extent of his injuries was not disclosed.
The attackers fled the scene, but law enforcement, including a helicopter and multiple patrol units, started a rapid search and arrested four suspects, aged 24, 34, 42, and 46. The suspects were arrested shortly after fleeing in a nearby forest, with one of the suspects sustaining injuries while attempting to avoid capture.
The Iranian ex-pats who oppose the Ayatollah have the same enemies as us.
— Fred Aaron is Pops Culture (@fredforthemets) September 9, 2024
German media such as Der Spiegel and WDR reported that all of the four men arrested are believed to be ardent supporters of the Iranian regime, emphasizing the attack’s political nature.
Information obtained by German media said that the victim, a 30-year-old Iranian refugee, fled Iran to escape persecution, and he was targeted due to his outspoken opposition to the Iranian regime. According to German authorities, the alleged perpetrators, all of whom were allegedly loyal to the Islamic Republic, sought to “sexually humiliate" the victim and silence him.
"Based on the current state of knowledge, the victim should above all be humiliated," Michael Burggräf, prosecutor of Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia, said, underlining the intent of the attack. "The attack was primarily intended to sexually humiliate the victim."
They do it inside Iran all the time with political prisoners.
But how the hell did it happen in Germany?!— Persian Gulf (@Pahlavist2582) September 10, 2024
Burggräf’s comments on the incident also give more credence to the fact that the assault was more than just a politically motivated attack against a dissident but a planned effort to silence the victim and even break his spirit.
This assault is also just one of many examples of the Iranian regime’s longstanding campaign to intimidate and harass dissidents living abroad. Last June, an Iranian dissident named Siamak Tadayon Tahmasebi narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by alleged Iranian agents after he alerted Dutch authorities after he noticed two men attempting to enter his home.
The Islamic Republic has a well-documented history of targeting its critics and defectors, both in Iran and abroad. The brutal nature of the attack in Iserlohn emphasizes the tactics and methods used by Iran’s intelligence apparatus, which has been connected to several forms of coercion and violence against dissidents in Europe, North America, and elsewhere.
