Shocking evidence from Tehran: thousands of bodies

Against the background of the wave of protests in Iran and the reports of thousands of deaths, mako health received a recording from the heart of Tehran, which was delivered by Shaiyan, an Iranian musician living in London. The person heard on the recording is, according to him, his old friend who is now staying in Iran.

At the beginning of the recording, the speaker can be heard apologizing for his hoarse voice, and explaining that he had just come from the demonstrations in which he participated in calls against the regime. Later, he says that his relative was killed during the protests, and according to him the family members tried for two days to get to Behsht Zahra Cemetery (the largest cemetery in Tehran) to bury him, and only after prolonged delays did they manage to reach the place.

“I want you to spread the news from here,” he says with a trembling voice, “I’m in Tehran, more than 4,000 people have been killed here in the last few days. They say 1,800 people die every day.”

Payment for the release of bodies

In the continuation of his testimony, the Iranian citizen reveals that the regime collects a large sum from the families of the dead as a condition for the release of the bodies. According to him, the family members were required to pay about two billion tomans for the release of the body, and about 500 million tomans for (hold tight): “the bullets that were fired and killed my relative.” These are very high amounts for the local public.

If that is not enough, he points out that the fine that the cemeteries demand from the families of the murdered is to bury their loved ones in their own grave, instead of burying them in a mass grave.

The harsh testimony heard in the recording joins other public reports about the extent of the violence and oppression. Just this morning, Hana Yahan Peroz, a lecturer and researcher on Iran from the Alliance Center at Tel Aviv University, also commented on this, when she said on Keshet 12’s morning show: “All the time the protests are intensifying, we have already heard about over 12 thousand massacred. They charge money for the bullet that hit the person’s own loved one, and they don’t release the body except for high sums. Terrible things happen there.”

Meanwhile, information about what is happening inside the country continues to flow through personal testimonies, Iranian exiles and partial reports, while the protests continue and the international pressure around Tehran is increasing. In Shayyan’s recording, he asks to make his voice heard because he wants “the world to know what is really happening here.”