Judiciary Spokesman: Amnesty International’s Death Toll Figures Are Claims
Iran’s judiciary spokesman, without announcing the death toll from recent protests, called Amnesty International’s figures of “at least 304” victims “claims” and a “propaganda scenario.” Esmaili also stated that the majority of detainees have been released.
Gholamhossein Esmaili, spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, while rejecting figures provided by Amnesty International regarding the number of victims in November protests, called them a “propaganda scenario” and simultaneously announced that the “majority” of detainees have been released.
In its latest report on protests in the last week of November last year in Iran, Amnesty International cited the death toll in these events as “at least 304 people” and, referring to the detention of thousands of people including children and adolescents, warned of the danger of their torture amid lack of information.
The human rights organization, like Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, had called for an “independent and impartial investigation” into the deaths from recent protests in Iran.
On Tuesday, December 26 (December 17), Iran’s judiciary spokesman called Amnesty International’s figures “claims,” but, as before, remained silent about the number of victims and detainees from recent protests. Esmaili said: “These are false claimants from Amnesty International or human rights organizations. If they respect human rights, why did they dedicate their official platforms to encouraging and instigating attacks on Basij bases and law enforcement forces?”
The spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s judicial system, addressing Amnesty International, said: “These are people whose official government authorities supported rioters, and the issues they raise are nothing but claims. We consider it a propaganda scenario.”
Response to “Discovery of Protesters’ Bodies in Dams and Rivers”
According to ISNA, at today’s press conference, Iran’s judiciary spokesman was also asked: “A number of people who were killed and whose names were among the missing from November events were found in floods and rivers, and there were signs of torture on their bodies. Has the judiciary entered into this case or not?”
Without confirming or denying this news, Gholamhossein Esmaili implicitly attributed it to “system ill-wishers” and “conspiracy,” saying: “First, the judiciary enters every suspicious death case. Wherever a body is discovered, even if a person dies of a heart attack, we intervene; therefore, we examine all suspicious deaths and nothing remains hidden, but entering into the narrative of fabricating deaths and statistics and fabricating numbers is a different matter. Attribution of such cases indicates that system ill-wishers intend to constantly create challenges for this system and people, and you and I must be vigilant not to fall for their conspiracy deception.”
In recent days, unconfirmed reports have been published about the discovery of bodies of several protesters from recent protests in dams and rivers in various parts of Iran. These reports and images, published on some websites and especially by social media users, included news of discovering a body in the Garan Dam in Marivan, a body in the Karun River in Ahvaz, and five bodies in Kurdistan dams.
Call for “Special Session” of UN Human Rights Council on Iran
Iran’s judiciary spokesman also stated in another part of today’s remarks, saying “we intend detainees to be limited to riffraff, miscreants, economic saboteurs and drug traffickers,” claimed: “The majority of those detained in recent events have been released by today. The figure I mentioned in the previous meeting has been reduced to 50 percent. We intend detainees to be limited to riffraff, miscreants, economic saboteurs and drug traffickers.”
This judicial official, however, like other officials of the Islamic Republic, did not provide figures on the number of detainees from recent protests. The spokesman for the National Security Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly had previously announced the number of detainees in these events as “about seven thousand people.”
Protests that erupted following a tripling of gasoline prices on November 15 across Iran quickly took on a political color and targeted the entire Islamic Republic system. However, Iranian security and police forces, amid internet shutdown and absence of free press, suppressed the protests forcefully.
Simultaneously with announcing “at least 304” deaths in recent Iran protests, Amnesty International has emphasized that the actual death toll could be higher than this number. The Kaleme website, close to Mir-Hossein Mousavi, also reported the death toll as 366 people citing an “informed source.”
Meanwhile, 23 human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Iran Human Rights Campaign, through a call, have demanded a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to launch an independent investigation into the critical human rights situation in Iran during and after the November protests.
Source: DW
