ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Human rights monitor Amnesty International said Tuesday at least 106 people have been killed across Iran since protests against the tripling of petrol prices began on Friday night. The United Nations earlier said it is alarmed by the use of live ammunition to disperse protesters.
“We are deeply concerned by reported violations of international norms and standards on the use of force, including the firing of live ammunition against demonstrators,” Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.
“We are especially alarmed that the use of live ammunition has allegedly caused a significant number of deaths across the country,” he added.
Amnesty International tweeted late on Tuesday that at least 106 protesters have been killed in 21 cities across the country.
“At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed in #Iran, according to reports we have received. Verified video footage, eyewitness testimony & information gathered from activists outside Iran reveal a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces,” the human rights monitor said.
“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.”
The protests entered their fifth day on Tuesday. At least 1,000 people have been arrested, according to state media reports.
The Iranian government again defended its shock decision on Friday to increase the price of a liter of petrol from 1,000 tomans ($0.10) to 3,000 tomans ($0.30). The move has added to the financial burden on ordinary Iranians already struggling under US sanctions.
The government has implemented a near total internet blackout, making accurate information and footage difficult to access outside the country.
“Update: 65 hours after #Iran implemented a near-total internet shutdown, some of the last remaining networks are now being cut and connectivity to the outside world has fallen further to 4 percent of normal levels,” read a tweet from the non-partisan connectivity tracking group NetBlocks on Tuesday afternoon.
The UN spokesperson said: “Again details have been hard to verify because of the shutdown of the internet late on Saturday.”
“We also call on the Government to immediately re-establish Iranians’ access to the internet, as well as other forms of communication, which allow for freedom of expression and access to information,” he added.
The demonstrations have even spread to the Iranian diaspora in Europe, with solidarity rallies outside Iranian embassies.
‘Snipers’
BBC Persian reporter Bahman Kalbasi shared a video on his Twitter account on Tuesday purportedly showing government “snipers” hiding behind trees and targeting protesters in the Kurdish-majority city of Kermanshah.
Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened Monday to launch a “decisive and revolutionary” response against the protesters.
The head of the Basij of Guilds, which is closely affiliated with the IRGC, said Tuesday that 500,000 of its members would be deployed to markets across the country to prevent traders from raising prices.
“The minister of Industry, Mines and Trade contacted the Basij of Guilds via telephone and asked for assistance from us including monitoring the bazaar and we agreed to do that,” Gholam Reza Hassanpour was reported as saying by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
Lawmakers resign
The petrol pricing plan was agreed by the High Council of Economic Coordination, made up of the president, parliamentary speaker, and judiciary chief.
On Sunday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “I am not an expert and there are different opinions but I had said that if the heads of the three branches make a decision I will support it.”
Following his speech, parliament cancelled a motion to reverse the price hike, semi-official news agency ISNA reported.
A lawmaker resigned Sunday in protest over the decision which circumvented parliament, saying the presence of MPs was now “meaningless”.
Two other lawmakers, Mohammad Qasim Osmani, who represents the Kurdish city of Bukan in Western Azerbaijan province, and Mahmoud Sadeqi, who represents Tehran, have also since resigned.
Reformist newspaper Etemaad reported on Tuesday that Qasem Jasemi, who represents the Kurdish city of Kermanshah, Mohammad Javad Fathi who represents Tehran, and Mohammad Javad Abtahi, who represents Khomeinishahr, plan to resign as well.
