A US-based rights group confirms nearly 6,000 deaths in Iran’s suppressed protests, with thousands more cases under investigation as an internet blackout obscures the true scale.
PARIS: A US-based rights group said it had confirmed the deaths of 5,848 people in a wave of protests in Iran.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said the toll included 5,520 protesters, 77 minors, 209 security force members and 42 bystanders.
The group warned it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities.
It added that at least 41,283 people have been arrested.
The protests started in late December sparked by economic grievances.
They later turned into a mass movement against the Islamic republic, with huge street rallies for several days from January 8.
Rights groups have accused authorities of an unprecedented crackdown by shooting directly at protesters.
The demonstrations have, for now, petered out.
NGOs tracking the toll say their task has been impeded by an 18-day internet shutdown.
They warn confirmed figures are likely far lower than the actual toll.
Confirming the blackout, monitor Netblocks said the shutdown was “obscuring the extent of a deadly crackdown on civilians”.
“Gaps in the filternet are being tightened to limit circumvention while whitelisted regime accounts promote the Islamic Republic’s narrative,” it added.
Iranian authorities last week gave their first official toll from the protests.
They said 3,117 people were killed.
A statement from Iran’s foundation for martyrs and veterans sought to draw a distinction between “martyrs” and “rioters”.
It said 2,427 of the dead were “martyrs”, meaning security forces or innocent bystanders.
It described others as “rioters” backed by the United States.
Over the weekend, Persian-language channel Iran International said more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces between January 8 and 9.
The report, citing sources and documents, could not be immediately verified.
The channel is based outside Iran.
Another NGO, Norway-based Iran Human Rights, says it has documented at least 3,428 killings of protesters.
It warned the final toll risks reaching 25,000.
