*Activists claim 5,000 killed
The Iranian judiciary has rejected statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that Tehran halted the execution of 800 demonstrators under the threat of military force.
This claim is “completely false,” state radio quoted Attorney General, Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, as saying on Friday.
A week ago, Trump said that a military attack on the Iranian leadership had been called off because authorities cancelled the execution of 800 people.
During the wave of protests, he repeatedly assured the demonstrators of his support and drew red lines for the leadership in Tehran, so far without consequences.
The protests were initially triggered by an economic crisis at the end of December.
However, the demonstrations quickly developed into political uprisings against the authoritarian ruling system of the Islamic Republic.
The security apparatus cracked down brutally on the protests and thousands of demonstrators were killed.
The Iranian judiciary had said that particularly serious cases of rioters would be given priority.
In some cases, the charges against them include the charge of “waging war against God” an offence that can be punished by death under Islamic law in Iran.
5,000 KILLED
No less than 5,000 people have been killed in the mass protests that have rocked Iran since the end of last year, according to activists.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified 5,002 deaths so far, including 4,714 protesters, 207 state security forces, 42 minors and 39 bystanders.
A further 9,787 deaths are still under investigations.
In addition, around 26,800 people had been arrested, according to the HRANA report.
The government said that 3,117 people were killed in what it called riots.
The protests broke out at the end of December.
Triggered by the country’s severe economic crisis, traders were the first to take to the streets.
On Jan. 8 and 9, mass protests broke out in the major cities and were brutally suppressed.
State media reported that numerous arrests were made in several parts of the country in recent days.
The Judiciary said previously that it would take harsh action against “troublemakers.”
The government blamed its arch-enemies Israel and the United States (U.S.) for the many deaths, claiming that they deliberately carried out numerous terrorist acts on Jan. 8 and 9.
This is contradicted by videos that found their way out of the country in spite of an internet blockage imposed by the authorities.
The videos appear to show security forces firing on unarmed demonstrators.
Never before in the history of the Islamic Republic, which was established in 1979, have so many demonstrators been killed during protests.
The protests appeared to have significantly reduced in the past week.
