"Mai Sato, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, speaks in the present tense about the repression against the recent demonstrations against the Islamic Republic. The reason, the Tokyo-born sociologist explains, is that arrests, the presence of security forces in the streets, and the searching of bystanders' cell phones are still happening, a month after those demonstrations were brutally suppressed and thousands died in the streets."
"The Iranian National Security Council published a figure of 3,117 deaths at the end of January. Of these, they said that 2,427 were innocent people and protectors of order and security. The Minister of Foreign Affairs then claimed that the remaining 690 were terrorists. Some of the numbers from civil society organizations reach 20,000, but even the death of a single protester was serious enough, as these were people who took to the streets exercising their freedom of expression and assembly."
Arrests, security forces in the streets, and searches of bystanders' cell phones continue a month after brutal suppression of nationwide demonstrations that left thousands dead. The Iranian National Security Council reports 3,117 deaths at the end of January, saying 2,427 were innocent people and protectors of order and 690 were terrorists. Civil society organizations estimate up to 20,000 deaths. The U.N. Special Rapporteur believes the actual death toll is much higher than the official figure. The protests spread to every province, making the repression unprecedented in scale though state killings, arbitrary detentions, threats to families, executions, and disappearances predate this wave.
Read at english.elpais.com
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