Iranian protester death toll rises to 12 as hundreds arrested

Iranian state TV has reported that 12 people have been killed amid nationwide protests, without elaborating.

Among the 10 were two protesters who were shot dead overnight in the small town of Izeh in southwestern Iran, a member of parliament told Iranian media on Monday.

“People of Izeh, like some other cities, held a protest against economic problems and unfortunately it led to the killing of two people and injuries to some others,” the area’s MP, Hedayatollah Khademi, told the ILNA news agency.

“I do not know yet whether last night’s shooting was by the protesters or by police,” he added.

Two more people were run over by a “government vehicle” in Lorestan province, the governor of the area said.

The Iranian government said on Sunday it has arrested more than 370 demonstrators over the last four days of the protests, while Iranian activists have claimed that the number is much higher.

Deputy governor of Tehran province, Ali Asghar Naserbakht, said that local police arrested around 200 individuals in protest-filled streets during late hours of Sunday night. Forty of those arrested were leading the protests, he added.

Mayor of Markazi province, Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari, said that local police arrested more than 100 protestors participating in what he  called an “unlicensed” demonstration.

Kashan city’s prosecutor said that more than 60 demonstrators were arrested on Saturday for protesting against the country’s political and economic conditions.

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Source:english.alarabiya.net