Iran Rounds Up Thousands In Mass Arrest Campaign After Crushing Unrest: Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) — Iranian security forces have rounded up thousands of people in a campaign of mass arrests and intimidation to deter further protests after crushing the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, sources told Reuters.

Modest protests that began last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardships unleashed broader long-suppressed grievances and quickly escalated into the most serious existential threat to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in nearly five decades; Protesters generally called for the ruling clergy to resign.

Authorities cut off internet access and cracked down with great force on unrest that left thousands dead, rights groups say. Tehran blames “armed terrorists” affiliated with Israel and the United States for the violence.

Within days, plainclothes security forces launched a massive arrest campaign with a concentrated street presence around checkpoints, according to five activists from inside Iran who spoke on condition of anonymity.

They said the detainees were placed in secret locks.

“They’re arresting everyone,” one activist said. “No one knows where they were taken or where they are being held. They are trying to instill fear in society with these arrests and threats.”

Similar accounts were given to Reuters by lawyers, medics, witnesses and two Iranian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation by security services.

They said the roundups were aimed at preventing a serious resurgence of protests by sowing fear at a time when religious institutions are facing increasing external pressure.

Uncertainty over the possibility of military action against the Islamic Republic has persisted since US President Donald Trump said last week that a “armada” was heading towards the country but hoped he would not have to use it.

But on Wednesday he doubled down on his threats, demanding Iran negotiate restrictions on its nuclear program and warning that any future US attack would be “much worse” than a one-day airstrike on three nuclear facilities last June.

Trump is considering options against Iran, including targeted attacks on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, but Israeli and Arab officials have said air power alone cannot topple the religious institution, multiple Western and Middle Eastern sources told Reuters this week.

Security forces have detained not only people accused of involvement in recent events, but also those arrested during protests in previous years “even if they did not participate this time, plus their family members,” one of the activists said.

The latest death toll compiled by US-based rights group HRANA is 6,373; 5,993 protesters, 214 security personnel, 113 under 18s and 53 spectators. According to HRANA, the number of detainees stands at 42,486.

Judicial officials warned that “those who commit sabotage, burn public property and engage in armed conflict with security forces” may face the death penalty.

The U.N. human rights office told Reuters on Thursday it understood the number of detainees was very high and that they were at risk of torture and unfair trials. UN Special Rapporteur for Iran Mai Soto said that thousands of detainees are doctors and healthcare workers.

Two Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Reuters that thousands of arrests have been made in the past few days.

They said many detainees were held in unofficial detention centers “including warehouses and other improvised places” and that the judiciary moved quickly to process cases.

Iranian authorities have refrained from commenting publicly on the number of detainees or where the detainees are being held. Authorities announced that 3,117 people, including 2,427 civilians and security personnel, were killed in the events that took place on January 21.

Amnesty International said on January 23 that “widespread arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, bans on gatherings and attacks to silence victims’ families point to the stifling militarization being implemented in Iran by the Islamic Republic authorities in the wake of protest massacres.”

Eyewitnesses and activists said arrests continued in the country, which expanded from small towns to the capital.

“They arrested my brother and cousin a few days ago,” said a person living in northwestern Iran who wished to remain anonymous.

“They raided our house in civilian clothes, searched the whole house, took all the laptops and mobile phones. They warned us that if we made this public, they would arrest us all.”

More than 60 percent of Iran’s 92 million population is under the age of 30. Although the recent protests have ended, religious rulers will eventually face the risk of more demonstrations if the heavy crackdown continues, according to rights activists.

Three Iranian lawyers told Reuters that dozens of families have approached them in recent days seeking help for detained relatives.

“Many families come to us seeking legal assistance for their children in custody,” said one lawyer. “Some of those arrested are under the age of 18; boys and girls.”

Human rights groups have long said Iran’s security organs use unofficial detention facilities during periods of serious unrest, leaving detainees without access to lawyers or family members for long periods of time.

Five doctors told Reuters that protesters injured during the protests were taken from hospitals by security forces and dozens of doctors were summoned by authorities or warned not to help injured demonstrators.

Prison officials denied holding injured protesters.

Families of the five detained men said the lack of information about their whereabouts had become a form of punishment.

“We don’t know where they are, if they are alive or when we will see them,” said an Iranian man whose daughter was detained. “They took my child as if they were arresting a terrorist.” (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; additional reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva; editing by Mark Heinrich)