Iranian authorities have done little to hold accountable those responsible for the brutal clampdown on nationwide protests that erupted a year ago, according to Human Rights Watch.
“One year after the November crackdown, Iranian authorities have avoided any measure of accountability and continue to harass the families of those killed during the protest,” Human Rights Watch Iran expert Tara Sepehri Far said in a statement Tuesday.
Iran’s government sparked the nationwide protests on Nov. 15, 2019, by ordering a 50% increase in the subsidized price of gasoline, further straining the finances of Iranians facing high unemployment and inflation in a shrinking economy under heavy U.S. sanctions.
Iranian security forces killed hundreds of people and arrested thousands more in crushing the mostly peaceful demonstrations, in which some protesters also damaged buildings and businesses.
The government responded to the protests with a near-total shutdown of the internet for four days last November and embarked on “the most brutal crackdown against protesters in decades,” according to HRW.
HRW said authorities continue to sentence dozens of protestors to imprisonment and flogging after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences against three protesters last June.
The rights organization also said it reiterated its call for the United Nations Human Rights Council to “establish a U.N.-led inquiry into the serious human rights violations by the Iranian authorities during and after the protests.”
The Iranian government did not immediately comment on the allegations from Human Rights Watch.
Michael Lipin contributed to this report.
