The death toll in Iran continues to rise as security forces and militias confront civilian protesters. Some estimates suggest that over 10,000 people have died.
According to human rights activists, regime judges have threatened quick trials and potential executions for detainees, with reports indicating that some prisoners have been tortured and coerced into signing confessions.
Iranian Attorney General Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has warned of immediate trials and executions for those involved in the protests, a statement widely circulated by state media as a means of instilling fear in the populace. He emphasized the need for prompt action: “If you want to do something, you have to do it now.” His remarks suggest a push for death sentences with minimal due process.
Access to information from Iran has improved somewhat due to Elon Musk’s Starlink offering free service to Iranians. However, security forces have reportedly been conducting raids to confiscate Starlink equipment. Although the regime restricted internet and phone services last Thursday, limited international calls resumed on Tuesday.
The Human Rights Defenders News Agency (HRANA) reported that as of Wednesday, the death toll was around 2,417, which included 12 children and 10 bystanders who weren’t part of the protests, as well as 147 government officials. They noted that around 18,400 people had been detained, a particularly distressing figure in light of the attorney general’s threats of mass executions. HRANA described these figures as “conservative” due to challenges in obtaining accurate information from within Iran.
In another report, the Iranian Human Rights Group (IHR) confirmed that at least 734 protesters had been killed, but they cautioned that their data was based on information from less than half of Iran’s provinces and a small percentage of hospitals, suggesting that the actual death toll might be much higher.
Information from various sources, both inside and outside Iran, indicated to CBS News that the true death count could exceed 12,000, possibly reaching 20,000. Additional reports underscored the credibility of the 10,000 to 12,000 figure, as images and videos from Iran appeared to show countless individuals with gunshot wounds being taken to morgues.
A source from CBS reported that regime officials have been storming hospitals and coercing medical staff to reveal the identities of patients treated for protest-related injuries, indicating a possible escalation in arrests and executions if the Iranian regime manages to maintain its power.
HRANA also reported on the Iranian government’s strategy of torturing prisoners to extract forced confessions, which has been used to portray the protests as instigated by foreign elements rather than a grassroots uprising. In the past two weeks, nearly 100 such confessions have been publicized by state media, reflecting an alarming increase in government coercion. For comparison, there were only about 37 suspicious confessions broadcast during the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” protests.
“These rights violations have grave implications and are indicative of a recurring pattern by the regime,” stated HRANA Deputy Director Skyler Thompson.
