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Amnesty Demands Justice After Iran's 'Killing Spree' Against Protesters

RFE/RL

   Amnesty International says the families of the more than 300 people who
   were killed by Iran's security forces during November's "ruthless"
   crackdown on anti-government protests continue to face "intense
   harassment and intimidation" from the authorities as they seek justice.

   Five days of protests erupted in Iran on November 15 following a
   government announcement about a fuel price hike.

   Amnesty International has documented 304 men, women and children who
   were killed by security forces during the demonstrations but says it
   believes the real number is higher.

   New research has again concluded that the use of lethal force against
   the vast majority of the recorded 304 victims was unlawful, the
   London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement on May 20.

   In almost all protests, there is no evidence that people were in
   possession of firearms or that they posed an imminent threat to life
   that would have warranted the use of lethal force, according to
   research conducted by the group.

   It cited two exceptions in the city of Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province,
   where gunfire was exchanged between protesters and security forces. The
   violence resulted in the death of one member of the Islamic
   Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and one police officer.

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