Demonstrators are chased and shot on the street. Thousands are said to have been killed and imprisoned. An Amnesty spokesman weighs in.
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We are receiving images from Iran that testify to massive repression: demonstrators are being persecuted and shot in the street. Security forces shoot at defenseless people. The images also show snipers apparently aiming from buildings directly at people’s heads, including their hands. Namely, when people try to film the protests with cell phones.
According to The Sunday Times, 16,500 to 18,000 people are said to have been killed. The US-based activist network Hrana speaks of 3,308 confirmed deaths.
There are pictures of makeshift morgues where body bags are piled up. They are shocking images – Beat Gerber from Amnesty International knows how to classify them.
SRF News: Is Amnesty sure that these images and clips are real and come from current demonstrations?
Beat Gerber: Every image and video is verified by us and checked for authenticity. There are specialized teams for digital evidence preservation.
Fake images are also circulating online. Caution is advised here.
Whenever possible, these videos are compared with other sources of information, such as witness statements. Fake images are also circulating online. Caution is advised here. Therefore, careful evaluation is required. One thing is clear: human rights violations should ideally be documented directly on site. But Amnesty, like many journalists, has been denied access to the Islamic Republic for many years.
However, the full extent of state violence still cannot be assessed.
Despite the internet shutdown, we managed to speak directly to sources in Iran via satellite communication.
Everything points to violence that has reached unprecedented levels.
There is also a network of human rights defenders, journalists and dissidents who have provided us with trustworthy reports. Everything points to violence that has reached unprecedented levels.
Still image from a video circulating on social media shows protesters in Tehran, Iran (January 9, 2026)
Keystone/UGC via AP
The protests have spread to over 100 cities. It’s not just the dead piling up in improvised morgues: the hospitals are overcrowded and overloaded with caring for the injured. We also received direct reports from hospitals.
It has obviously been possible to break the wave of protests in the last few days.
Most recently, we saw heavily armed security forces patrolling the streets to enforce nighttime curfews. It has obviously been possible to break the wave of protests in the last few days. Everything points to a bloody suppression of a popular uprising that really reached broad sections of society.
We are talking about security forces in general terms. Who exactly is responsible for the violence against the population?
It is a well-coordinated apparatus made up of police units, revolutionary guards and militias.
Thousands of people were abducted and imprisoned.
Some of them also spread terror among the demonstrators in civilian clothes. Thousands of people were abducted and imprisoned. They are threatened with torture and ill-treatment. We know this from previous waves of repression. Added to this is the death penalty for intimidation. The Iranian Foreign Minister’s recent assurances that no people would be hanged should not be believed. We know from the last wave of protests that numerous so-called “rebels” – i.e. participants in the protests – were executed.
The interview was conducted by Ivan Lieberherr.
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