Iranian Authorities’ Silence on Deaths; Human Rights Source Says 34 Killed in Kurdistan Alone

According to reports published by human rights network Hengaw, at least 34 people have been killed and 167 wounded in protests over the past several days in various cities in Kurdistan.

According to Hengaw human rights network, following protests against gasoline price increases that began on Friday, November 15 in various cities across Iran, at least 30 people have been killed in the cities of Javanroud, Marivan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Saqqez, and Boukan, and more than 160 others have been wounded.

According to this human rights organization’s report, in these gatherings which turned violent in recent days, at least 15 people were killed in the city of Javanroud and 52 were wounded.

So far, the identities of four people who died in Javanroud have been confirmed by this human rights organization: Kaveh Mohammadi, Hamzeh Naghdipour, Ebrahim Moradi, and Mobin Abdollahi. Voice of America has not yet been able to independently verify this information.

According to this report, Mobin Abdollahi, 26 years old from Shabankara village in Ravansar County, was killed on Sunday, November 17, by direct gunfire from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces toward protesting people in the Basij square of this city.

According to reports released, on Sunday, November 17, direct fire from armed forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran toward protesting people in the city of Boukan also killed at least four people, and 20 other citizens were wounded. The identities of those killed have not yet been confirmed by this human rights organization.

Concurrently with the second day of protests in Marivan on Sunday, November 17, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces directly fired at protesters in the Falahat-e Jihad and Chahararah-e Bayve areas of Marivan, killing at least 8 people and wounding at least 50 in this city.

The identities of four of the people killed so far have been announced as Osman Naderi, Mehran Tak, Shaho Walidi, and Behrouz Maleki.

According to Hengaw human rights network, armed forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran on Saturday, November 16, also directly fired at those protesting gasoline price increases on Khomeini Street and Dowlatabad neighborhood in Kermanshah, killing at least 5 people present in these gatherings and wounding 20 other protesters.

So far, the identity of one person killed, 21-year-old Mohammad Mirzaei, has been confirmed by this human rights organization, and based on available information, the wounded have been transferred to Imam Reza and Taleghani hospitals in this city.

On the other hand, on Saturday, November 16, security forces’ gunfire toward people in Sanandaj also killed a 16-year-old youth and wounded 25 others. In Saqqez, at least one person named Mina Sheikh also lost her life.

According to this human rights organization’s report, the bodies of the deceased have not yet been handed over to their families, and the physical condition of three of the wounded in Javanroud and Marivan cities has been reported as critical.

Public protests began on Friday, November 15, following the sudden announcement of a tripling of free gasoline prices in various cities across Iran. Previously, Voice of America reported that public protests took place in at least 54 Iranian cities.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in his initial reaction to widespread protests in Iran on Saturday, November 16, while reposting a tweet from eighteen months earlier, wrote to the Iranian people that the United States stands with you.

The Islamic Republic cut off the internet in major cities Saturday night, and Morgan Ortagus, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, reacting to this action by the Iranian regime, said: “We condemn efforts to cut off the internet. Let them speak!”

America says the Islamic Republic is spending the country’s wealth on supporting terrorist groups and destabilizing the Middle East instead of on its people.

The United States has also repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s natural resources by regime-affiliated officials, considering them among the main factors in Iran’s economic and financial problems. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about Islamic Republic officials, saying they have become engaged in corruption instead of helping people.

If a gathering has been held in your city, let us know and send your photos and videos to Voice of America’s Telegram (click here).

Source: Voice of America