Amnesty: Iran killed at least 23 children in November crackdown

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 23 children were killed by Iranian security forces in the nationwide protests in November 2019, according to evidence unveiled in an investigation by Amnesty International.

At least 22 of the children were shot dead by Iranian security forces unlawfully firing live ammunition at unarmed protesters and bystanders, according to the findings.

The children killed include 22 boys, aged between 12 and 17, and a girl reportedly aged between eight and 12, Amnesty says. Details of their deaths are included in a new briefing, ‘They shot our children’ - Killings of minors in Iran’s November 2019 protests.

“In recent months an increasingly gruesome picture has emerged of the extent to which Iranian security forces unlawfully used lethal force to crush last year’s nationwide protests. However, it is still devastating to learn that the number of children who fell victim to this brutality is so shockingly high,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International has gathered evidence from videos and photographs, as well as death and burial certificates, accounts from eyewitnesses and victims’ relatives, friends and acquaintances on the ground, and information gathered from human rights activists and journalists.

Protests erupted in Iran on November 15, 2019 following a sudden government announcement about a fuel price hike. According to credible reports compiled by Amnesty International, at least 304 people were killed and thousands injured between 15 and 18 November as authorities crushed the protests using lethal force. During and following the protests, the Iranian authorities arbitrarily detained thousands of detainees and subjected some to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment.