Families report that the authorities are withholding the bodies of victims of the protests and are charging impossible amounts to return them
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Families of protesters killed during the demonstrations in Iran reported that the regime is demanding between 5,000 and 7,000 dollars to hand over the victims' bodies. The information was corroborated by BBC Persian, which collected multiple testimonies that describe a systematic practice in hospitals and funeral homes in the country.
According to the reports, officials refuse to hand over the corpses unless the relatives pay amounts ranging between 700 million and 1,000 million toman. In a country where many workers earn less than 100 dollars a month, these figures are unattainable and deepen the suffering of those who have already endured the loss of a family member.
Hospital sources even indicated that some employees secretly alert families so that they can remove the bodies before the security forces attempt to extort them.
Ideological coercion: offering bodies for free in exchange for propaganda
The BBC also documented cases in which authorities at the Behesht-e Zahra morgue, in Tehran, offered to hand over the bodies at no cost if the families agreed to declare that the victims belonged to the Basij militia and that they had died as martyrs at the hands of opposition protesters.
This mechanism, denounced as propagandistic manipulation, seeks to rewrite the circumstances of the deaths in order to reinforce the regime's narrative and delegitimize the protests.
El régimen iraní exige hasta 7.000 dólares para entregar los cuerpos de manifestantes asesinados
A witness recounted that, faced with the fear that the authorities would withhold or bury the bodies without notice, several families stormed the morgue, forced the door, and guarded the corpses in the hospital courtyard until they were able to transfer them in private ambulances.
More than 3,400 dead in protests and thousands detained
According to organizations such as IHRNGO, since the beginning of the protests on December 28 there have already been about 3,428 deaths, in addition to thousands of injured and detained. The figure reflects an unprecedented level of repression and confirms the collapse of civil guarantees under the Iranian regime.
The country remains under a severe internet blackout, a habitual practice of the regime to prevent the dissemination of complaints, block the organization of demonstrations, and limit the audiovisual recording of abuses.
United States reinforces its military presence amid regional escalation
El régimen iraní exige hasta 7.000 dólares para entregar los cuerpos de manifestantes asesinados
Amid the repressive escalation in Iran, the United States moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East along with several escort ships. The information, released by the New York Times through Pentagon sources, indicates that the fleet was advancing from the South China Sea and will arrive in the region in approximately one week.
In addition, the deployment of warplanes from Europe is expected, including fighter jets, attack aircraft, and refueling units. Part of these aircraft will replace equipment already present in the area, while others could remain there depending on how tensions with Iran evolve.
The Pentagon is also reinforcing air defense at strategic bases such as Al Udeid, in Qatar, by sending more interceptor missiles and protection systems.
