The number of people reported killed in Iran¡¯s protest crackdown has surged as rights groups continue to verify suspected fatalities, with one United Nations special rapporteur saying the total could be more than 20,000.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency said it¡¯s verified 5,002 deaths during the unrest that erupted in late December. The group is reviewing a further 9,787, while more than 26,000 people have been arrested, it said.
Mai Sato, the U.N.¡¯s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, told ABC earlier this week that the number of civilians killed is estimated at 5,000 or more. Reports from doctors in the country suggest the figure may be at least 20,000, she said, later adding that the figure hasn¡¯t been verified by the U.N.
Rights groups attempting to measure the true toll of Iran¡¯s suppression of some of the biggest demonstrations since the 1979 revolution have been hampered by ongoing restrictions to internet access and telecommunications. The protests were triggered in Tehran by a collapse in the currency, before spreading nationwide with calls for the end of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei¡¯s regime.
Amnesty International said Friday that Iranian authorities committed ¡°mass unlawful killings on an unprecedented scale¡± from Jan. 8 to 9 and had imposed a system of ¡°suffocating militarization¡± on the population to crush dissent and prevent access to the outside world. The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva is scheduled to hold a special session on Iran at 2 p.m..
Iranian authorities provided their own toll for the first time on Wednesday, reporting 3,117 deaths, of which 2,427 are considered ¡°innocent¡± ¡ª including members of the security forces, according to a statement by Iran¡¯s National Security Council. It didn¡¯t provide a breakdown or refer to any civilians.
An international fact-finding mission launched in the wake of Iran¡¯s 2022 anti-government protests should include potential crimes against humanity by the Iranian state in the latest uprising, Sato said.
U.S. President Donald Trump at one point suggested he would intervene in the Iranian protests before backing off. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he dangled the threat again, saying the country has a ¡°massive fleet¡± going toward Iran, referring to a buildup of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East.
¡°I¡¯d rather not see anything happen, but we¡¯re watching them very closely,¡± he said.
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