Amnesty International: At Least 208 Killed in Iran Protests

The latest figures from Amnesty International indicate that at least 208 people have been killed during recent protests in Iran. The Islamic Republic continues to refuse to release accurate figures on deaths, injuries, and arrests related to these demonstrations.

Amnesty International, in its latest update, announced that the death toll from Iran’s November protests stands at 208 people. In a tweet published on Monday, December 2, the human rights organization revised its previous figures upward. The organization had previously reported 161 deaths.

The Islamic Republic continues to withhold exact figures on deaths, injuries, and arrests from November’s protests. Despite the release of numerous videos and eyewitness accounts documenting gunfire from official and plainclothes government forces against demonstrators, the government continues to blame “thugs and foreign agents” for the killings.

On Saturday, December 1, Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the country’s chief prosecutor, stated with pride that the actual figures had reached no one: “Fortunately, people outside the country have no access to information and statistics, which is why they provide different figures, none of which are credible.”

Some parliamentary representatives have called for establishing a truth commission to investigate the dimensions and reasons for the protests. In his latest statement, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a Tehran representative, warned on Monday that “if the relevant authorities do not announce accurate figures on deaths, injuries, and arrests, parliament members will be forced to release documented statistics based on public reports.”

Amnesty International stated that “we believe the death toll is significantly higher” and called on the international community to hold Iranian authorities accountable for these events.

More than two weeks after Iranians began protesting gasoline price increases, Islamic Republic officials have not released death toll figures. Some officials have cited seven thousand arrests, but have remained silent on the numbers of deaths and wounded.

Various figures on the death toll have been released. The Telegram channel and website Kalemeh, close to Mir-Hossein Mousavi, announced on Thursday, December 1 (November 28 in the Persian calendar), one day before Amnesty International released its figures, that according to “an informed source,” 366 people had been recorded as victims of recent Iran protests.

Amnesty International itself has published three reports on death toll figures, with the numbers increasing each time.

Explanation for Amnesty International’s Varying Figures

Raha Bahraini, a human rights lawyer and researcher at Amnesty International, told Deutsche Welle about the reasons for the varying death toll figures: “We believe the death toll is much higher than the 161 people that Amnesty International announced today, November 29. Amnesty International’s investigative standards are strict. We carefully review each case reported to us and seek primary sources to verify the accuracy of the reported information. Our investigation process for completing and recording information is time-consuming, but it is for this reason that Amnesty International reports are considered credible by governments and international organizations.”

To supplement its information and advance truth-finding and accountability, Amnesty International has issued calls on its Telegram, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, inviting victims’ families and all those with information about protester deaths and arrests to contact the international human rights organization. The Amnesty International lawyer continued by saying that in addition to victims’ relatives, eyewitnesses, neighbors, hospital staff, and employees of medical examiner’s offices, cemeteries, and civil registry offices can all help this organization in “the pursuit of truth.” Raha Bahraini further emphasized that “Amnesty International always protects the identity of its sources.”