A commission of inquiry to investigate protests against the high cost of living that escalated into anti-government rallies that claimed thousands of lives was established by the Iranian government on Friday.
Speaking to the local news outlet ISNA, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said, “A fact-finding committee has been formed with representatives from relevant institutions and is collecting documents and hearing statements.”
The spokesperson did not clarify if the committee would look at protest-related deaths or just the economic demands that led to the demonstrations.
“After the process is finished, the final report will be published for public information and future legal action,” she said.
President Masoud Pezeskhian made remarks on the government website on Thursday, stating, “We have assigned teams to investigate the causes (of the unrest),” but he did not elaborate.
According to the official tally, almost 3,000 people were killed in the protests, which started in late December and intensified on January 8.
According to Iranian authorities, “terrorists” working for Israel and the US killed the great majority of the fatalities, who were either security forces or bystanders.
However, non-Iranian human rights organizations claim that the security forces are pursuing demonstrators.
During the height of the protests, at least 7,005 individuals were killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
According to the report posted on the official website, Pezeshkian stated, “We are ashamed that such unfortunate events have occurred.”
