Human rights activists in Iran [1] are subjected to beatings with batons, mock hangings, rape, sleep deprivation, and threats that family members will be raped or killed, a U.N. rights investigator said in a report released on Thursday.

The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly that Iranian authorities undermined press freedoms, watched some journalists constantly and detained and persecuted others unfairly.

The report said: "Methods employed reportedly included severe beatings with batons and other objects, mock hangings, electrocution, and actual rape.

"Other forms of psychological torture allegedly included sleep deprivation, denial of food and/or water, and threats of arrest, detention, rape or murder of family members. Several victims also reported being drugged with hallucinogens."