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Iranian Snipers Killed More Than 100 Protesters, Amnesty International Says

Iranian men burn a U.S. flag during a protest in support of the Islamic republic's government and supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the northwestern city of Ardabil on Nov. 20, 2019, as President Hassan Rouhani said the country's people had defeated an

(Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

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Mary Margaret Olohan Social Issues Reporter
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Iranian snipers killed more than 100 protesters in 21 cities throughout Iran in the past week, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

The London-based Amnesty International said snipers shooting from rooftops, and once from a helicopter, shot over 100 protesters throughout the last week. Protests began on Nov. 15 after an announcement that fuel prices had risen at least 50%, Reuters reported, and authorities said they arrested about 1,000 demonstrators.

“The organization believes that the real death toll may be much higher, with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed,” Amnesty International said in a statement, adding that reports from witnesses “reveal a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces, which have used excessive and lethal force to crush largely peaceful protests.” (RELATED: New Zealand Broadcasts Islamic Call To Prayer To Honor Mosque Attack Victims)

Iranians take to the streets in support of the Islamic republic's government and supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the cenral city of Arak, southwest of the capital Tehran, on November 20, 2019, as President Hassan Rouhani said the country's people had defeated an "enemy conspiracy" behind a wave of violent street protests. - Demonstrations erupted in sanctions-hit Iran last week after an announcement the price of petrol would be raised by as much as 200 percent, with motorists blocking major roads in Tehran before the unrest spread rapidly to at least 40 urban centres, with petrol pumps torched, police stations attacked and shops looted. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranians take to the streets in support of the Islamic republic’s government and supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the cenral city of Arak, southwest of the capital Tehran, on Nov. 20, 2019, as President Hassan Rouhani said the country’s people had defeated an “enemy conspiracy” behind a wave of violent street protests. (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Intelligence and security forces did not return bodies of the dead to their families but instead ordered quick burials of the bodies without autopsies, Amnesty International said.

Peace has been restored, Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said at a news conference, but videos on social media showed protests continued through Monday night, Reuters reported.

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