At Least Five Children Killed by Repressive Forces; Report by Iran Human Rights Organization on the First Ten Days of Nationwide Uprising

The Iran Human Rights Organization announced that during the first ten days of recent anti-government protests in Iran, at least 27 protesters, including five children, have been killed and hundreds more injured. According to this organization, the number of detainees has also exceeded one thousand. The report states that the new wave of nationwide uprising, which began on December 28, 2025, in response to dire economic conditions in the Tehran market, quickly took on a political and overthrowing character, spreading to various parts of Iran with anti-government slogans. The protests, according to this report, now encompass at least 26 provinces and about 80 cities in Iran. The organization also reported that during this period, students have held protest gatherings at least in 20 universities. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, at least 27 protesters in eight provinces have been killed by gunfire or violence from government forces, five of whom were children under 18 years old. The organization emphasized that it has received reports of more casualties that are still being verified, and if confirmed, the number of victims will increase. The Iran Human Rights Organization also announced that more than a thousand people have been detained in various cities across the country. According to this organization, in the city of Harsin in Kermanshah province, more than 100 students and in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, more than 50 students are among the detainees. The organization identified the city of Malekshahi in Ilam province as one of the main centers of protests and stated that images published from January 3 show direct gunfire from repressive forces at protesters. The Iran Human Rights Organization has confirmed the deaths of at least six people in this city and is investigating several other cases. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, government forces attacked Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam on the night of January 14, where injured protesters from Malekshahi were being transferred. The organization reported that security forces violently entered the hospital after families and medical staff resisted, detaining several protesters. Reports of the mass arrest of citizens around this hospital have also been published, which have not yet been independently confirmed. The Iran Human Rights Organization added that on Tuesday, January 16, anti-riot special forces stormed Sina Hospital in Tehran and fired tear gas in the area and around this hospital. The organization expressed concern about the possibility of heavy sentences, including executions, for detained protesters, referring to threats from judicial officials and the continued broadcast of forced confessions of protesters by state media. The Iran Human Rights Organization considers the use of military weapons against protesters and attacks on hospitals as a form of 'international crime' and has called for an immediate and decisive response from the United Nations and the international community.