After the deadliest suppression of protests in Iran in several decades, Iranian regime authorities have expanded their crackdown beyond the streets to morgues, hospitals, and families’ homes, turning the bodies of protesters into a tool for quelling dissent and controlling the official narrative.
Reports show how the bodies of protesters killed in the recent demonstrations are collected, stored, and then handed over under strict security measures.
Morgues under the control of security forces
Videos published on social media show the continued transfer of the bodies of killed Iranians to the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine complex, a state-run forensic center south of Tehran.
In one of these videos, dated Wednesday, January 14, dozens of bodies are seen laid on the floor of large, warehouse-like halls inside the complex.
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In the same video, a trailer can be seen from which security forces are unloading more bodies.
Similar videos and reports received from Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Rasht report that large numbers of bodies are being held in forensic centers and hospitals.
According to field reports, morgues and hospitals are under heavy security, and access to these locations is entirely controlled by Iranian regime security forces.
Families who went to these centers seeking information about their missing relatives have described a chaotic atmosphere, long lines, and a lack of effective communication.
Pressure on families
Families attempting to retrieve the bodies of their relatives face intimidation and pressure from security forces, including plainclothes agents and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iranian regime security forces have raided the homes of victims’ families and even their neighbors, searched mobile phones, verbally abused family members, and in some cases fired at walls during nighttime raids.
According to these sources, authorities have told families that bodies will only be handed over in the early morning hours. They have also said that burial ceremonies must be held individually and must end by four a.m.
Several families have also reported being warned that if they do not accept these conditions, their loved ones’ bodies will be buried collectively without their consent.
Paying the cost of bullets
One of the most frequently mentioned points in public accounts is the demand for money from families in exchange for handing over the bodies of those killed.
According to multiple sources, Iranian regime authorities tell families they must pay for each bullet used to kill their loved ones. Depending on the case, the demanded amounts range from 700 million rials to 2.5 billion rials per bullet.
At the current exchange rate, these figures are approximately equivalent to 480 to 1,720 dollars. At a time when the average monthly income of a worker in Iran is estimated to be less than 100 dollars, paying such amounts is practically impossible for many families. However, reports from Iran have also mentioned amounts of up to 7,000 dollars for handing over a body.
Iranian regime authorities had also employed this practice during previous protest crackdowns, but according to informed sources, its implementation during the recent protests has been unprecedented and on a much broader scale.
A message has also been published from the mother of one of those killed, in which she says she buried her child in the garden of their home.
Forced membership in the Basij
A number of families reported that government security officials pressured them to identify their killed relatives as members of the Basij, a paramilitary force affiliated with the regime.
According to reports by human rights organizations and informed sources, families have been told that if they agree to the issuance of a Basij membership card for their loved ones, the bodies will be handed over without charge.
According to human rights groups, in several cities, free handover of bodies has been conditioned on families declaring that their relatives were Basij members and were killed by protesters.
Human rights organizations view this as the imposition of a false identity and an attempt to inflate the official casualty figures of Iranian regime security forces; an action aimed at reinforcing the government’s claim of the presence of “terrorist elements” in the protests.
Severe pressure on medical centers
Published accounts present a picture of intense pressure on hospitals. The high number of gunshot victims and bodies of those killed has pushed medical centers into crisis, and security forces, through direct intervention, prevent the handover of bodies or the holding of burial ceremonies.
According to one account, security forces raided the homes of families who had managed to receive the bodies of their loved ones.
Another account refers to the suicide of a nurse. According to this report, after being confronted with a large number of killed protesters, she took her own life under severe psychological pressure.
Messages received from Isfahan speak of widespread killings, mass arrests, and authorities refusing to hand over the bodies of those killed.
Suppressing mournings
It appears that the government’s restrictions on funeral and burial ceremonies for those killed are intended to prevent public mourning from turning into a focal point for further protests.
Some families have said they were forced to bury their loved ones hastily, in silence, and under the surveillance of Iranian regime security forces.
Some said they were ordered to refrain from speaking publicly or publishing images, while others reported continued monitoring and surveillance after the burial.
