Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and other NGOs are still verifying thousands of deaths from recent protests amid an earlier internet blackout, manipulated content and threats to sources. IHR halted regular public updates after confirming 3,428 deaths, saying the scale overwhelmed its strict verification standards; HRANA has verified 6,872 deaths and is investigating an additional 11,280 cases. Iranian authorities acknowledge 3,117 fatalities and published 2,986 names, while the UN rapporteur warns that communications filtering has obscured the true scale. NGOs emphasize all tallies are minimums and that full verification could take years.
“Unprecedented Mass Killing”: NGOs Struggle To Verify Thousands Killed In Iran Crackdown
Protests broke out in Iran in late December over economic grievances (ATTA KENARE)(ATTA KENARE/AFP/AFP)
When fragmented reports slipped through an almost complete communications blackout during Iran's recent protests, rights defender Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam described the scale of the crackdown as "unbelievable." Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and other monitoring groups immediately began painstaking verification work that continues weeks later.
Verification Challenges
NGOs say their efforts have been hampered by a mix of an earlier nationwide internet shutdown, manipulated or altered media (including content likely affected by artificial intelligence), and threats or reprisals against sources and grieving families inside Iran.
"It is very heavy work and not only physically, but also mentally heavy," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. "Often the hardest part is contacting a family, hearing their account and what they saw."
Numbers, Discrepancies And Minimums
IHR stopped regular public updates after verifying 3,428 deaths, saying the scale of violence exceeded its capacity to meet its strict multi-source verification standards. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has verified 6,872 deaths and reports a further 11,280 cases under investigation; it has also recorded more than 50,000 arrests. Iranian authorities have acknowledged 3,117 fatalities and published a list of 2,986 names — which they say are mainly security personnel and innocent bystanders.
Amiry-Moghaddam and others stress that all NGO tallies should be treated as minimum figures: verification is ongoing, many families are still searching for missing relatives, and cross-checking evidence can take months or even years.
How NGOs Verify Amid Risk
IHR and HRANA described layered verification procedures: requiring documentation, corroboration from at least two independent direct sources for many cases, geolocation of footage, cross-referencing videos with witness testimony, and contacting relatives. IHR also receives submissions via a distributed QR-code system to protect source anonymity, while HRANA uses lower-tech channels such as landlines to reduce digital exposure.
"Each case undergoes an independent verification process based on primary sources through HRA's long-established documentation network inside Iran," said HRANA legal adviser Jennifer Connet, noting the team is "small and significantly overstretched".
Information Environment And The Wider Context
The United Nations special rapporteur Mai Sato warned that communications filtering "has obscured the true scale of events" and enabled authorities to control information flow. At the same time, some media outlets have reported much higher death tolls — figures that some NGO leaders say are plausible even if they exceed current verified totals.
Human Cost
Beyond numbers, NGOs continue to document individual stories: a young woman who died in her father's arms, a teenager killed shortly after his 16th birthday. Investigators say those personal accounts are among the heaviest parts of the work. For many monitoring groups, establishing a final, comprehensive count may take years and could remain incomplete until the political environment allows fuller access.
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