At least 51 protesters, including nine children, have been killed during Iran’s latest wave of nationwide unrest, according to figures released on Friday by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization, as authorities imposed a total internet blackout.
The organization said the deaths have been confirmed over 13 days of anti-government protests, which began on Dec. 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic grievances and quickly spread nationwide with explicitly anti-regime slogans.
According to the group’s verified data, the protesters have been killed across 11 provinces, with hundreds more wounded. Only cases confirmed directly by the organization or by at least two independent sources are included in the current toll.
Among the confirmed fatalities are nine minors under the age of 18, though the organization said documentation confirming the precise ages of all child victims is still being collected.
The rights group also reported receiving unverified accounts of dozens more deaths in Tehran, Mashhad, Fardis in Karaj, and Hamedan. Those cases are undergoing verification and are not yet reflected in the official tally.
