Iran says in an official report that fewer than 300 people died during protests in 2022 sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
The figure is significantly lower than that provided by the United Nations earlier this month which based on "credible data" reported "as many as 551 protesters killed by security forces, including at least 49 women".
The Iranian report attributes most of the civilian deaths to "rioters" and says the remainder are involved in "terrorist acts or attacks."
Published yesterday, the special report from the President's office estimates that 281 people died in the months of unrest following Amini's death in September 2022. The detailed document, nearly 300 pages long, was released nine days after a report commissioned by the United States Human Rights Council United Nations which accused Iran of crimes against humanity.
Amini, 22, was an Iranian Kurdish woman who died three days after she was arrested for allegedly violating the Iranian dress code that requires women to wear the veil.
The special committee, appointed by President Ebrahim Raisi to investigate the unrest that shook the country after her death, said that Amini died of hypocerebral, or a lack of oxygen to the brain.
In October 2022, Amini's family rejected an official medical report according to which the young woman's death was not caused by the beatings she suffered.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA