In Kahrizak, south of Iran’s capital Tehran, five videos reviewed by Amnesty International show an improvised mortuary. At least 205 body bags can be seen. Photos of the dead are shown on a screen in the building, numbered consecutively. The counter increases to 250.
An eyewitness told BBC Persian that the bodies were “lying on top of each other” and that some rooms were so full that doors could no longer be opened. Amnesty speaks of “mass unlawful killings on an unprecedented scale.”
The extent of the violence shocked even experienced activists. Nevertheless, the protests in Iran have become quieter again. According to human rights organizations, between 2,000 and 3,000 people were killed. The Iranian exile media Iran International even speaks of 12,000 deaths.
Amnesty International documents a coordinated approach: Revolutionary Guards, Basij militias, police and civilian emergency services fire specifically from streets, roofs and buildings – including mosques and police stations. Shots were often fired at the head and upper body.
No identification
Hospitals also became places of overwhelm. A medical worker in Mashhad told Amnesty that 150 dead young people were taken to hospital in one night alone. An injured young woman died there and security forces tried to attribute her death to the “rioters” – the family refused to accept this. Other dead people were buried without identification and relatives were only informed afterwards.
In Kermanshah, an injured protester described the situation this way: “Kermanshah feels like a war zone. It’s a hail of bullets. Police came out of the surrounding alleys and opened fire. We all ran, but the gunfire didn’t stop. I was hit by 20 metal bullets and sought refuge in a nearby house. The security forces even shelled the houses of people who were sheltering refugees.”
A journalist from Tehran made a desperate appeal to Amnesty: “Tell the world that unspeakable crimes are being committed in Iran. Tell the world that (the authorities) will turn the country into a cemetery if they do nothing.”
The internet has been almost completely shut down since January 8th. National phone calls only work hourly. Amnesty International warns: The communications blackout not only makes it more difficult to help, but also endangers evidence. The Internet barriers is not “crisis management”, but rather an attempt to cover up a crime.
Great frustration
The fact that the protests are currently less visible is also an expression of this strategy. People search for relatives in morgues, avoid hospitals for fear of arrest and try to make sense of what happened. There has been no international support so far.
This is causing great frustration among the protesters in Iran. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised on his Truth Social platform and in interviews that help is on the way. Many protesters were counting on this help – whatever it might be. However, more than two weeks after the protests erupted, no help has yet arrived.
Amnesty International is therefore calling for urgent diplomatic steps: special sessions in the UN Human Rights and Security Council, international investigative mechanisms and a referral to the International Criminal Court. Decades of impunity have encouraged those responsible to continue to escalate the situation.