Following seven days of have taken place in 165 cities across the country with at least 251 killed, over 3,700 people injured and more than 7,000 demonstrators arrested by the regime’s oppressive security forces. in
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 21, 2019
“The rights to freedom of expression and assembly must be guaranteed.”
She added that the EU expects the Iranian authorities to restore communications and end a near-total internet blackout in place since the weekend.
Amnesty International said more than 100 demonstrators were believed to have been killed across Iran since security forces were ordered to “crush” the protests. Amnesty later said the real toll could be as high as 200.
David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, told CNN that the impact of internet shutdown makes it incredibly difficult to know what civilians are presently facing in Iran.
“Fundamentally, I don’t think we have a very good sense of what’s happening on the ground in Iran right now,” Kaye said. “The reporting has been spotty at best … We’re starting to hear about the protests and the use of force against the protesters.”
Kaye added, “The international community needs to be saying: keep the internet on, do not repress peaceful protest, use only proportionate means to deal with it, and make sure that all your responses to protesters are in keeping with international human rights standards.”
On Wednesday, the UN issued a statement asking the regime to resume internet connectivity.
“We have seen the reports of a significant death toll during recent protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We echo the statement on Iran made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday, including the call to immediately re-establish Iranians’ access to the internet,” Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“We continue to urge the Iranian authorities and security forces to exercise maximum restraint and avoid the use of force to disperse peaceful demonstrations.”