Iranian rights official slams "appalling" prisoner abuse in U.S.

TEHRAN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian rights official on Thursday censured the "abuse" of prisoners in the United States as "appalling."

Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian judiciary chief's deputy for international affairs and secretary of the country's High Council for Human Rights, made the remark in a post on his Twitter account, in response to reports that an Alabama man named Anthony Mitchell froze to death inside a county jail after being allegedly placed inside a walk-in freezer or another cold area by guards.

"In yet another appalling instance of jail abuse in the U.S., a man froze to death after being restrained in a freezer!" said Gharibabadi.

He slammed the U.S. human rights mechanisms as "terrifying" for not daring to "pose a question, or unmask the depth of the matter."

Mitchell, 33, suffered from drug addiction and had a history of both mental and physical health problems, according to his family.

He was arrested on Jan. 12 after his family called the police concerned over his erratic behavior.

After his death on Jan. 26, his mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that he had been left naked in jail for days until he was transported "unconscious" to a hospital.