Iranian lawmaker says 3,700 detained after recent unrest

tehran — An Iranian reformist lawmaker said on Tuesday that some 3,700 people were arrested in the days of protests and unrest that roiled Iran over the past two weeks, offering a far higher number than authorities previously released.

The protests, which vented anger at high unemployment and official corruption, were the largest seen in Iran since the disputed 2009 presidential election, and some demonstrators called for the overthrow of the government. At least 21 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding the protests.

The official news website of the Iranian parliament, icana. ir, quoted Mahmoud Sadeghi of Tehran as saying that different security and intelligence forces detained the protesters, making it difficult to know the exact number of detainees. He did not elaborate, nor did he say where he got the figure.

Previously, authorities have said “hundreds” were arrested in Tehran alone, not offering a total figure for arrests as the demonstrations spread into the Iranian countryside, including small towns.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has said about 42,000 people at most took part in the anti-government protests. Sadeghi’s figure of arrested offered Tuesday would mean nearly 10 per cent of those who demonstrated were arrested.

On Sunday, Tehran prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said that 70 of the detained protesters have been released on bail during the last 48 hours. He added that there would be more releases from detention, except for the main instigators of the riots who will be “dealt with seriously.”

Also on Sunday, Iranian lawmakers held a closed session in which senior security officials briefed them on the protests and the conditions of the detainees, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian authorities have said that the protests are waning. That’s in part due to the government blocking access to the popular messaging app Telegram, which demonstrators used to share images of the rallies and organise. Authorities also have deployed additional police and members of the Basij, a volunteer organisation affiliated with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. It remains difficult for journalists and outsiders to piece together what’s happening beyond Tehran, as Iran is a vast country of 80 million and travel there is restricted. —