Iran, human rights activists: ‘116 dead and over 2,600 arrests’

Rome, 11 January (LaPresse) – Over 2,600 arrests and 116 deaths. According to the Human Rights Activists Agency (Hrana), this is the toll of the protests in Iran, now in their fourteenth day. On its website, HRANA writes that ‘Iran’s connections with the outside world have been largely cut off’ and ‘although this situation has severely limited the dissemination of images and reports, it has not prevented the protests from continuing within the country.’ It identifies 574 protest sites in 185 cities in all 31 provinces of the country. Of the 116 victims, seven were under the age of 18, and four of the victims were not protesters, including medical personnel. Examination of the causes of death shows that most of the victims were killed by live ammunition or pellet gunshots, mainly at close range. In addition, 37 of the victims were members of the armed or security forces, and one was a public prosecutor. The total number of detainees at the end of the 14th day reached 2,638, the identities of 628 of whom were confirmed, while 2,010 were recorded as mass arrests or cases without specific identification.