Amnesty. More than 100 protesters killed in Iran unrest

Amnesty. More than 100 protesters killed in Iran unrest

PanARMENIAN.Net - Verified video footage, eyewitness testimony from people on the ground and information gathered from human rights activists outside Iran reveal a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces, which have used excessive and lethal force to crush largely peaceful protests in more than 100 cities across Iran sparked by a hike in fuel prices on 15 November, said Amnesty International on Tuesday, November 19.

At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed, according to credible reports received by Amnesty. The organization believes that the real death toll may be much higher, with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed. State media have reported only a handful of protester deaths, as well as the deaths of at least four members of the security forces.

Video footage shows security forces using firearms, water cannons and tear gas to disperse protests and beating demonstrators with batons. Images of bullet casings left on the ground afterwards, as well as the resulting high death toll, indicate that they used live ammunition.

“The authorities must end this brutal and deadly crackdown immediately and show respect for human life,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“The frequency and persistence of lethal force used against peaceful protesters in these and previous mass protests, as well as the systematic impunity for security forces who kill protesters, raise serious fears that the intentional lethal use of firearms to crush protests has become a matter of state policy.”

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked roads, using their parked cars as a form of protest. Verified video footage shows riot police smashing windows of cars with drivers still inside.

According to eyewitness accounts corroborated by video footage, snipers have also shot into crowds of people from rooftops and, in one case, a helicopter.

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