20 November 2019 :

Death toll of Iran protests exceeds 220 following deadly crackdowns. The death toll for the four days of Iran protests over gas price hike rose to at least 220 in several Iranian cities. Though the number of reports and videos obtained from Iran are limited due to shut down of the internet, sources say the regime resorted to a deadly crackdown against protesters. The officials have only admitted deaths of five people, but Persian media and reporters operating in diaspora estimate that tens of people have been killed so far. According to the Prague based Radio Farda, at least 40 people have been killed. Washington D.C. based Iranian journalist Shahed Alavi quoted his source inside Iranian government that “from Friday to Monday, 200 people were shot dead and more than 3000 wounded.” Latest reports coming from Iran indicate most protesters who were shot and killed by security forces have been shot in the head and chest. The regime is trying to hide the extent of its killings. In many cases, security forces have refused to hand over the bodies of the protesters to their families. They are instead buried in unknown locations. At least 3,000 protesters were injured. More than 1,000 people have been arrested, according to the state-run Fars news agency. Iran protests broke out over the weekend after authorities abruptly announced a hike in petrol prices at midnight on Friday. Many videos shared on social media show strong response by security forces against protesters. In a bid to conceal the extent of its crackdown, and to cut off Iranians from each other and the rest of the world the regime has imposed an almost complete nationwide internet blackout since Sunday. Several Iranian officials vowed to crack down on protests after the regime’s Supreme Leaded weighed in Sunday, calling protesters “hooligans” and demanding “decisive” clampdown. He acknowledged that Iranians had taken to the streets to protest and that some had died. But he blamed Iran protests on monarchists and opposition groups trying to destabilize Iran. Iran Human Rights condemns internet blackout and violent crackdown of protesters by the Iranian authorities and calls on the international community to react immediately. IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said, “Total internet blackout might indicate the Iranian authorities’ plans to use even more violence against the protesters. We urge the international community, especially the EU, to use all their leverage to put pressure on the Iranian government to stop the violent crackdown.”