Iranian authorities demand ransom from families of dead protesters for release of bodies - BBC
Kyiv • UNN
Iranian security forces are demanding thousands of dollars from the families of dead protesters for the release of their bodies. The authorities also offer free release of bodies on condition of a public statement that they died at the hands of protesters.
Families of those killed during nationwide protests in Iran have faced widespread extortion by security forces. According to BBC, law enforcement agencies and hospital staff are demanding thousands of dollars for the return of bodies for burial, an unaffordable sum for most citizens of the country. UNN reports this.
Details
According to monitoring data, the number of deaths in the last two weeks of protests has reached at least 2,435 people. The bodies of those killed are kept in morgues under heavy guard. In the city of Rasht, a family reported a demand to pay 700 million tomans (about $5,000) for the release of a loved one's body. In Tehran, a Kurdish builder's family was demanded one billion tomans ($7,000), while the average salary in this sector is less than $100 per month.
Some hospital staff secretly call relatives, urging them to collect bodies before security forces arrive to avoid official levies.
Manipulation of "martyr" status
In addition to financial pressure, the authorities use the bodies of the deceased for propaganda. Relatives at Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra morgue were offered to take the bodies for free on the condition that they publicly declare that their children were members of the paramilitary Basij and died at the hands of protesters.
We were asked to participate in a pro-government rally and portray the body as a martyr's body. We did not agree to this
Scale of repression
The situation in Iranian morgues remains critical. It is reported that more than 70 bodies of protesters were simultaneously in only one Poursina hospital in Rasht. Those families who cannot pay the "ransom" are forced to leave the bodies of their relatives at the disposal of the regime, which often buries them in unknown places without proper rites.