Over a Thousand Arrested in Iran Protests, at Least 21 Killed

Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran report that over a thousand people have been arrested during the protests over the past five days in the provinces of Tehran, Kerman, Alborz, Qazvin, West Azerbaijan, Markazi, Razavi Khorasan, and Golestan. Official statistics indicate that 21 people have also been killed in the cities of Toyserkan, Dorud, Izeh, Shahin Shahr, and Qahderijan. While protests have occurred in over 70 cities in Iran in recent days, only officials from a few cities have announced the number of arrests. According to ILNA news agency, Ali Asghar Nasirbakht, the deputy governor of Tehran, announced that 450 people were arrested in recent protests in Tehran. He stated that around 200 were arrested on Saturday, 150 on Sunday, and about 100 on Monday. Ali Ta'ali, the governor of Hamadan, also reported the arrest of 150 protesters. According to Fars news agency, he mentioned that most of the detainees are aged between 17 and 25. Gholamali Abuhamzeh, commander of the IRGC in Kerman, announced that more than 80 protesters have been arrested and handed over to 'relevant authorities.' Mostafa Omidvar, the prosecutor of Takestan in Qazvin province, also stated that several 'leaders' of the protests in this city have been arrested without specifying the number. Haji Reza Shakeri, the prosecutor of Karaj, announced that 20 individuals who he claimed were 'leaders' of the recent protests have been arrested. He stated that they would not provide statistics on the total number of detainees for now. Hassan Heydari, the prosecutor of Mashhad, also reported that 138 people were arrested in recent protests in this city. Nasser Atabati, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Ardabil province, announced the arrest of 40 individuals following the recent protests and stated that '15 of these individuals were involved in actions disrupting public order and security.' Several other officials from different cities in Iran have reported the arrest of protesters in recent days. For instance, Ali Aghazadeh, the governor of Markazi province, reported the arrest of 100 people in this province. Mohammad Reza Aslani, the police chief of Azadshahr in Golestan province, announced that four protesters were arrested in this city. Meanwhile, the Iran Human Rights Campaign reported that many of the recent detainees have been transferred to Evin prison in Tehran and Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj. An informed source told this human rights organization that the head of Evin prison has ordered the evacuation of one of the prison blocks to transfer new detainees there. According to him, the hall that has been evacuated for new detainees housed over 200 inmates who have now been moved to other blocks of Evin prison. Sources from the Iran Human Rights Campaign also stated that one of the halls in Rajai Shahr prison has been designated for the detained protesters in Karaj, which has the capacity to accommodate over 150 inmates. With at least 9 people killed during the protests and demonstrations on Tuesday night, the death toll in recent days across several cities in Iran has reached 21. News agencies reported that six protesters were killed on Tuesday night, January 1, during an attack on a police station in Qahderijan in central Isfahan province. At the same time, official reports indicate that a member of the IRGC was killed in Kahriz Sang in Isfahan province on the same day. Previously, several protesters in cities like Dorud, Toyserkan, and Izeh were killed by the Islamic Republic's anti-riot forces. However, Iranian officials have denied that these individuals were killed by security forces.