• Dear fuel and sanctions, deaths in Iran. Amnesty: "Over 100 victims". Khamenei: "Rejected the enemy"
  • Iran. Protests against rising petrol prices do not stop. Pictures

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December 06, 2019 At least 7 thousand people would be arrested in Iran during the violent demonstrations in recent weeks against the increase in petrol prices. This was denounced by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, adding that she had obtained "verified videos" in which the security forces of the Islamic Republic are shooting at protesters, with apparent intent to kill.

Denouncing "serious human rights violations" in the repression of the protests, Bachelet confirmed the balance sheet of "at least 208 deaths" ascertained spread in recent days by Amnesty International, according to which the real number could be much higher. The UN High Commissioner said: there are reports of a number of victims that would be "double", but his office has so far failed to verify them. According to the US the deaths could have been "over a thousand". The figures had been rejected as "absolute lies" by Tehran, which however did not provide a clear budget in this regard.

The number of arrests indicated today by the UN is higher than the approximately 2,000 recognized by local authorities, but coincides with the figure reported by an Iranian deputy. Many of the detainees would not have had access to a lawyer and would be held in detention centers "overcrowded and in harsh conditions," Bachelet added, asking the "authorities to immediately release all the protesters who were arbitrarily deprived of their freedom".