A United Nations expert on Iran issues stated on Monday (January 26) that she has received reports indicating that Iranian security forces have been taking many medical professionals who participated in nationwide protest activities from hospitals and detaining them, a serious violation of the rights to medical care as stipulated by international law.
UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, mentioned in a video interview with Reuters that Iranian authorities have also been demanding families of the deceased to pay between $5,000 to $7,000 to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. Amid Iran’s worsening economic crisis, this has become a heavy burden on the Iranian people.
The anti-government protests that erupted in December last year quickly spread across the nation, prompting the Iranian authorities to launch the bloodiest crackdown since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, drawing condemnation from the international community. Iran has also imposed an internet blackout since January 8.
Human Rights Activists in Iran, a US-based organization, reported that the death toll related to the protest activities has reached 5,937 individuals (including 214 security personnel), while official figures stand at only 3,117. This non-governmental organization is well-known for its news agency, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Sato mentioned that she cannot independently verify the death toll but believes that the actual casualties far exceed official figures.
“Many reports indicate that hospital staff in several provinces of Iran have reported raids by security forces on their hospitals,” she said, adding that some families arrived at the hospitals the next day only to find their relatives no longer there.
Sato pointed out that this behavior has created a chilling effect, causing people to fear seeking medical treatment out of potential detention, thereby facing risks of death or deteriorating health conditions.
She further stated that such actions by Iranian authorities grossly violate the principle of medical neutrality. According to the Geneva Conventions, doctors, hospitals, and patients must be protected to ensure fair care.
Citing multiple reports, Sato highlighted that unarmed protesters in all 31 provinces of Iran have been subjected to gunfire, with security forces specifically targeting vital organs such as the chest and head of the protesters, indicating an abuse of lethal force. International law only allows for the moderate use of such force when absolutely necessary.
“In these instances, it demonstrates that these are cases of unlawful deaths and arbitrary killings,” Sato noted, adding that recent reports have also documented a significant increase in eye injuries among protesters, caused by rubber bullets.
(Adapted from Reuters report)