A leading Afghan human rights group confirmed on Thursday that Iranian guards beat, tortured and drowned Afghan migrants at the border earlier this month.
In a report, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said that a total of 46 migrants crossed the river flowing at the border between the two countries by boat and with the help of smugglers from Herat’s Gulran district. They were aged between 12 and 40 years.
The report, citing survivors, said the migrants were detained by Iranian border guards before they were beaten and forced to collect grass for several hours around their checkpoint.
Then, the forces got the migrants into a bus to deport them and took 20,000 tomans from each as fare.
As they reached the river, the guards ordered the migrants to cross it. When they refused to do so, they were beaten and the guards fired up to nine shots at them.
The migrants got into the river, but only eight of them could cross the border.
Based on official data, 21 people survived the incident, 10 died and 15 others went missing.
AIHRC called for the case to be pursued until the perpetrators are trialled and the victims are paid compensation.
It also called on the United Nations to monitor investigation of the incident to fully ensure justice.
