Iranian authorities killed 23 children during November crackdown on protests, Amnesty report finds

At least 23 children were killed by Iranian security forces during protests which rocked the Islamic Republic in November last year, according to an Amnesty International report released on Monday.

At least 22 were shot dead as a result of live fire, the report found.

A wide range of evidence was gathered to compile the 36-page report, including videos and photographs, accounts from eyewitnesses on the ground and information gathered from human rights activists and journalists.

Read more: US hits Iran general with sanctions over protest crackdown

In at least 10 cases, description of victim's injuries in death certificates revealed that they had been shot in the head or torso, indicating that the security forces were shooting to kill. 

Twenty-two were boys between ages of 12 and 17, one was a girl between eight and 12.

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Twenty-three children were recorded as having been killed in 13 cities in six provinces across the country, according to the report, which reflected "the widespread nature of the bloody crackdown".

Protests erupted across Iran from November 15 after the government announced a hike in petrol prices.
A harsh crackdown was launched to quell the dissent that Amnesty has already said left 304 dead, a figure Tehran vehemently denies.

"There must be independent and impartial investigations into these killings, and those suspected of ordering and carrying them out must be prosecuted in fair trials," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Amnesty have reached out to Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli with the names of all 23 victims but recieved no response.

Families and relatives of children have been subject to harrassment and intimidation by intelligence and security officials, which correspond with broader state attempts to silence them from talking openly about their deaths, Amnesty said.

In its conclusion, the report calls on member states of the UN Human Rights Council to mandate an inquiry in the unlawful use of force against unarmed protesters and bystanders, including children, between 15 and 19 November 2019.

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