With the internet blackout, it is incredibly hard to get information from inside Iran. And for Iranians living abroad, desperate for news of their loved ones inside the country, that can mean a tortuous wait.
For Maedeh Soltani, the daughter of a well-known human rights lawyer Abdolfatah Soltani and civil rights activist Masoumeh Dehghan, the news, when it finally came, was not good.
In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Soltani, who lives in Germany, confirmed the killing of her uncle, Ali Dehghan Joghan. She said that there were so many bodies in Tehran that it took her relatives four to five days to find her 55-year-old uncle.
“My uncle was a resident of Shahr-e Rey, in the south of Tehran, but it is not clear to me where he was shot or where his body was found," Soltani said. "I believe my family searched for his body in places such as Behesht-e Zahra, Tehran’s main cemetery, as well as other locations in the south of the city."
“I cannot say with certainty exactly what happened. However, relatives who contacted us from Iran said that the body of my uncle (her mother’s brother), who was killed on Thursday [January 8] or Friday [January 9], was not found until the morning of January 13," the exiled Iranian said.
'Thousands Of Bodies'
Soltani said that she had heard from a "trusted source, someone reliable to both me and my family" that the number of people killed and being kept in Tehran’s morgues and cemeteries is extremely high. "This person spoke of thousands of bodies," she said.
At least 648 protesters have been killed and thousands injured amid the ongoing protests, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights. Rights groups warn the true death toll could be significantly higher, potentially reaching into the thousands.
“My uncle was around 55 years old. He had two daughters, approximately 20 and 15 years old. He was not necessarily politically active, but he deeply cared about bread, inequality, and the catastrophe we are witnessing in social justice.
"This is what brought him to the streets. I am certain that his grieving daughters and his family will not remain silent at home. They will rise and make their voices heard."
