A US-based rights group said Friday it has confirmed the deaths of more than 5,000 people during protests that swept Iran, adding that the vast majority were protesters targeted by security forces.
NGOs tracking the toll from the crackdown on the biggest protests in Iran in years have said their task has been impeded by the now two-week internet shutdown, warning that confirmed figures are likely to be far lower than the actual toll.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 5,002 people had been killed, including 4,714 protesters, 42 minors, 207 members of the security forces and 39 bystanders.
But the group added it was still investigating another 9,787 possible fatalities.
At least 26,852 people have been arrested, it said.
Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed.
The statement from Iran’s foundation for martyrs and veterans sought to draw a distinction between “martyrs”, who it said were members of security forces or innocent bystanders, and what it described as “rioters” backed by the United States.
Of its toll of 3,117, it said 2,427 people were “martyrs”.
HRANA said that by issuing their own toll, the authorities had “attempted to solidify the government’s official narrative regarding the killings”.
Another NGO, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), says it has documented at least 3,428 killings of protesters by the security forces and warned that the final toll risks reaching the scale of 25,000.
The internet blackout remained in place Friday.
Monitor Netblocks said that while messaging apps were more available and more people were connecting through VPN “tunnels”, the service “is heavily filtered and observable international connectivity remains low”.
– Iran denies US execution halt claim –
US President Donald Trump had threatened new military action against Tehran over the crackdown, in particular warning the authorities of consequences if Iran executed protesters.
The White House said on January 15 that “800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place” the previous day “were halted” following pressure from Washington.
However in Iran’s first response, its prosecutor general Mohammad Movahedi-Azad described the assertion as “completely false”.
“The unreasonable and arrogant American president… has claimed to have prevented the execution of 800 people in Iran. This claim is completely false, there is no such number, nor has the judiciary made such a decision,” he said, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan website.
There has been no report of any protesters executed but rights groups have warned demonstrators risk being charged with capital crimes, which could see them sentenced to death.
Iran is the world’s most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups. Last year, it hanged at least 1,500 people, according to IHR.
Twelve people were executed over the last major protest wave from 2022 to 2023, according to IHR. Another 12 people have been executed on charges of spying for Israel since the war with Israel in June which was backed and joined by the US.
Rights groups say executions on other charges have continued throughout this month despite the protests, although the internet shutdown has complicated the gathering of information, as most hangings are not publicised by the authorities.
HRANA said on Thursday that this week at least 14 prisoners were executed in various prisons across Iran, after being sentenced to death on charges related to drug offences and murder.
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