UN Human Rights Council demands investigation into Iran’s ‘brutal’ repression

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council has condemned Iran for rights abuses and mandated an investigation into a recent crackdown on anti-government protests that killed thousands of people in January. Meeting for a special session on January 23, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to launch an "urgent investigation" into the crackdown on demonstrations in Iran in recent weeks. Its 47 members expressed their deep concern at the "unprecedented" scale of the violence perpetrated by the country's security forces. Since December 28 waves of protests have broken out across Iran sparked by the rising cost of living. Rights groups say bystanders were among those killed during the biggest crackdown since Shi'ite Muslim clerics took power in the 1979 revolution. Tehran has blamed "terrorists and rioters" backed by exiled opponents and foreign foes the US and Israel. The Norwegian-based NGO Iran Human Rights has confirmed 3,428 victims, but fears that the real death toll could ...