Iran Human Rights Says At Least 3,428 Protesters Killed So Far
- By RFE/RL
The Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) says that at least 3,428 protesters have been killed and thousands injured since the start of anti-government protests in Iran on December 28.
In a statement issued on January 14, the rights group said that this number "only includes cases verified directly by IHRNGO or through two independent sources and is supported by hospital and morgue documentation."
The group also said it had learned from sources within Iran’s Health Ministry that at least 3,379 protester deaths were recorded between January 8 and January 12 alone.
IHRNGO also warned that the actual death toll could be far higher than the reported figures.
According to the report, more than 10,000 people have also been arrested during the protests.
The organization said it had "also received numerous reports of wounded individuals being “finished off,” with witnesses reporting that this occurred both on the streets and in medical facilities."
IHRNGO further warned of the risk of mass executions of detained protesters following what it described as “show trials,” and urged the international community "to prevent the atrocities and protect the people of Iran."
Iranian Woman Describes Indiscriminate Killing Amid Deadly Protest Crackdown
RFE/RL's Radio Farda has spoken to an Iranian woman who says every day she hears from friends and colleagues of another person killed amid the country's protest crackdown, including a pregnant bystander on her way home. The death toll is at more 2,400 protesters, according to the US-based human rights monitor HRANA. But many groups fear the number is far higher. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, recently traveled outside Iran, where a digital blackout continues to block access to the Internet.
Days after a protester was filmed pulling down the national flag from the Iranian Embassy in London, the same thing happened in Madrid yesterday.
Like the incident in the UK capital on January 10, the Madrid footage appears to show a man climbing the balcony of the embassy in the Spanish capital on January 13 and replacing the flag with the pre-Islamic revolution flag, featuring a lion and sun, which is frequently used by Iranian opposition groups.
China’s Ties With Iran Show Their Limits Amid Protests And US Threats
As Iran’s clerical rulers battle to survive one of the biggest threats to their grip on power in years and the United States threatens potential military action against the country, China has few options -- and growing hesitancy -- to help its partner in Tehran.
Beijing’s inaction reflects the pragmatic nature of their alignment, which is based more on convenience rather than goodwill or trust, experts say.
Those limits have been on display as the Iranian authorities wage an unprecedented and bloody crackdown on mass antiestablishment protests, leading US President Donald Trump to impose new tariffs and threaten military strikes against the Middle Eastern country.
Read more here.
On The Ground In Iran: Security Forces Flood Karaj As Families Hide Their Dead
Radio Farda spoke to a source who lives in Tehran and recently visited the nearby city of Karaj.
After four days of protests and a violent crackdown, the city, which lies around 40 kilometers west of the capital Tehran, is now swarming with the security forces' motorbikes and vans. Men armed with machetes, clubs, and guns patrol in front of government buildings and in the city squares.
People on the streets speak in hushed tones, as if walking through darkness or afraid to disturb the quiet.
Read more.
UK PM Slams 'Sickening Repression' In Iran
UK Prime Minster Keir Starmer says he condemns "in the strongest possible terms the sickening repression and murder of protesters in Iran. "
"The contrast between the courage of the Iranian people and the brutality of their desperate regime has never been clearer," he said in the UK Parliament on January 14.
He added that the British government was "working with allies on further sanctions and doing all we can to protect UK nationals."
Iran Remains In Digital Darkness, Internet Monitor Says
The NetBlocks cyber watchdog says the Iranian authorities continue to block access to the Internet as part of their crackdown amid massive anti-government protests. "Metrics show Iran remains offline as the country wakes to another day of digital darkness," it said in a post on January 14.
The uprising in Iran was sparked in late December by spiraling inflation and a free fall of the currency but has since turned into a broader anti-government protest. Rights groups say officials have waged a brutal crackdown on the demonstrations with many fatalities.
The independent US-based rights monitor HRANA said that according to its confirmed and verified data on January 13, the death toll in the protests had risen to 2,403 people, with more than 18,000 others detained. "With the Internet blackout now past its 132nd hour, early reports indicate thousands of casualties. The true extent of the killings is masked by the absence of connectivity," NetBlocks said.
Reuters: Some US Military Base Staff In Qatar Advised To Leave
Citing three diplomats, Reuters is reporting that certain staff at the US military base in Qatar have been advised to leave.
The agency did not identify the diplomats, but quoted them as saying: "Some staff have been advised to leave Al-Udeid Air Base, a US military base in Qatar, on Wednesday evening."
The US Embassy in Doha did not comment on the matter, according to Reuters.
Al-Udeid is the largest US base in the Middle East and houses approximately 10,000 troops. Previously, some troops had left US bases in the Middle East before the United States carried out air strikes on Iran during the 12-day Iran-Israel war last June.
Officials in the Islamic republic had threatened to consider US bases and interests in the region as legitimate targets for attack if US President Donald Trump takes military action in support of the protesters.
Iran's Top Sunni Cleric Condemns Killings Of Protesters
Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran's top Sunni cleric and Friday Prayer leader in Zahedan, issued a statement describing the recent killing of thousands of protesters in Tehran and other Iranian cities as a horrific and unprecedented catastrophe and saying those responsible await "divine punishment."
In a message published on January 13, Abdolhamid wrote: "This bitter event has plunged the Iranian nation into grief and anger, profoundly wounding the collective conscience of free-spirited people worldwide."
He also emphasized at the end of his message that "those who ordered and carried out this crime will undoubtedly be held accountable in this world and will also deserve divine punishment in the hereafter."
The US-based human rights monitor HRANA reported that as of January 13 -- the 17th day of the protests -- 2,403 protesters, including 12 children, had been confirmed killed.
Rights groups and observers warn that due to the nationwide Internet blackout, the death toll may be even higher.