GENEVA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Iran in the coming days, with proponents aiming to discuss "alarming violence" used against protesters, a
U.N. Human Rights Council to Convene Emergency Session on Iran
Emergency Session on Iran's Protest Violence
By Olivia Le Poidevin and Emma Farge
Context of the Protests
GENEVA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Iran in the coming days, with proponents aiming to discuss "alarming violence" used against protesters, a document showed on Tuesday.
International Reactions
An Iranian official said authorities have verified at least 5,000 deaths in the protests which are the biggest demonstrations since 2022, prompting U.N. rights chief Volker Turk to condemn the violence.
Iran's Response to Allegations
"A special session is needed because of the importance and urgency of the situation, in particular due to credible reports of alarming violence, crackdowns on protesters and violations of international human rights law across the country," according to a letter written by Iceland's ambassador Einar Gunnarsson on behalf of a group of countries including Germany and Britain, and seen by Reuters.
Human Rights Watch has denounced mass unlawful killings and is asking for an existing U.N. probe, set up by the council in 2022 after the last wave of protests, to investigate the deaths and be given extra financing to do so.
Iran's diplomatic mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Diplomats said Iran had sent to missions pages of rebuttal against allegations of a crackdown, saying the clashes followed armed attacks on security forces.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin and Emma Farge in Geneva, editing by Linda Pasquini)
