Rights group says confirmed Iran protest toll nears 6,000

A US-based rights group said Monday it had confirmed the deaths of 5,848 people in a wave of protests in Iran suppressed by security forces, warning that it was still investigating thousands more potential fatalities.

The protests started in late December sparked by economic grievances but turned into a mass movement against the Islamic republic, with huge street rallies for several days from January 8.

Rights groups have accused authorities of an unprecedented crackdown by shooting directly at the protesters, and the demonstrations have, for now, petered out.

NGOs tracking the toll have said their task has been impeded by a now 18-day internet shutdown, warning that confirmed figures are likely to be far lower than the actual toll.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 5,848 people had been killed, including 5,520 protesters, 77 minors, 209 members of the security forces and 42 bystanders.

But the group added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities. 

At least 41,283 people have been arrested, it said.

Confirming the internet blackout remains in place, monitor Netblocks said the shutdown was "obscuring the extent of a deadly crackdown on civilians".

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"Gaps in the filternet are being tightened to limit circumvention while whitelisted regime accounts promote the Islamic Republic's narrative," it added.

Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities last week said 3,117 people were killed.

The statement from Iran's foundation for martyrs and veterans sought to draw a distinction between "martyrs", who it said were members of security forces or innocent bystanders, and what it described as "rioters" backed by the United States.

Of its toll of 3,117, it said 2,427 people were "martyrs".

Over the weekend, Persian-language TV channel Iran International, which is based outside Iran, said more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces between January 8 and 9, citing reports, documents and sources. It was not immediately possible to verify the report.`

Another NGO, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), says it has documented at least 3,428 killings of protesters by the security forces and warned that the final toll risks reaching 25,000.

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