Iran’s government on Friday announced the formation of a commission of inquiry to look into protests against the high cost of living that turned into anti-government rallies that killed thousands.
Iranian authorities claimed that most of the dead were bystanders killed by security forces or “terrorists” working for Israel and the United States. (AFP/Representative photo)”A fact-finding committee has been formed with representatives of relevant institutions and is collecting documents and listening to statements,” Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told local news agency ISNA.
The spokesman did not specify whether the commission would focus only on the economic demands that sparked the protests, or whether it would also investigate deaths during the protests.
“The final report will be released for public information after the process is completed and further legal action will be taken,” he said.
On Thursday, the official website published President Massoud Pezheshkian’s comments that “we have appointed teams to investigate the causes (of the unrest) without giving further details.
The protests, which began in late December before escalating on January 8, have killed more than 3,000, according to official counts.
Iranian authorities claimed that most of the dead were bystanders killed by security forces or “terrorists” working for Israel and the United States.
Human rights advocacy groups based outside Iran, however, have accused security forces of targeting protesters.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that at least 7,005 people were killed at the peak of the protests.
“We are ashamed that such an unfortunate incident happened,” Pezeshkian said, according to the report published on the government website.
