*ISLAMABAD – At least 106 protesters have been killed during recentprotests in Iran sparked by a hike in fuel prices, the AmnestyInternational saidlinkWednesday,expressing fears that the real death toll may be much higher.*
“Verified video footage, eyewitness testimony from people on the ground andinformation gathered from human rights activists outside Iran reveal aharrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces,” thehuman rights group said.
It accused the Iranian security forces of using “excessive and lethalforce” to crush largely peaceful protests in more than 100 cities acrossIran. The protests were sparked by a hike in fuel prices on November 15.
The Amnesty International said that video footage of incidents showssecurity forces using firearms, water cannons and tear gas to disperseprotests and beating demonstrators with batons. Images of bullet casingsleft on the ground afterwards, as well as the resulting high death toll,indicate that they used live ammunition, it added.
The rights group criticised the Iranian state media for reporting only ahandful of protester deaths, as well as the deaths of at least four membersof the security forces.
“The authorities must end this brutal and deadly crackdown immediately andshow respect for human life,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’sresearch and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
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“The frequency and persistence of lethal force used against peacefulprotesters in these and previous mass protests, as well as the systematicimpunity for security forces who kill protesters, raise serious fears thatthe intentional lethal use of firearms to crush protests has become amatter of state policy.”
The rights group said further said that top government officials includingIran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have issued statements describingprotesters as “villains” and giving security forces a green light to crushdemonstrations.
The Amnesty International called on Iranian authorities to respect therights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Itdemanded Iranian officials lift the near-total block on internet accessdesigned to restrict the flow of information about the crackdown to theoutside world. – APP / AFP
