Activists raise number of protesters arrested in Iran to nearly 41,000, put death toll at 5,200

The number of people arrested and killed during the mass wave of anti-regime protests that raged in Iran earlier this month has continued to rise, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which puts the death toll at 5,200 and arrest figures at nearly 41,000.

Figures have trickled out of Iran despite the now two-plus week long internet blackout, and while there have been no further demonstrations in Iran for days, activists say the number of dead and detained protesters is expected to increase.

The group’s figures have been accurate in previous unrest and rely on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. That death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest there in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s government offered its first death toll on Wednesday, saying 3,117 people were killed. It said 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the rest as “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest.

The activist agency on Saturday also increased the total number of people arrested to 40,879 — a significant jump from the more than 27,700 people in its previous update.