Washington, DC – Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, expressed grave concern over reports that Iranian security forces have been pursuing and arresting injured protesters inside hospitals. In a video interview with Reuters, Sato described these practices as a “clear violation of the right to access medical facilities under international law.” She also stressed that targeting the wounded inside hospitals constitutes a serious breach of humanitarian and medical standards.
Sato noted reports that some victims’ families were forced to pay between $5,000 and $7,000, equivalent to approximately 700 million to 1 billion tomans, to receive the bodies of their loved ones.
She considered these practices, in addition to their ethical implications, to impose a severe financial burden on families, especially given the difficult economic conditions in Iran. The UN Special Rapporteur emphasized that the number of dead and wounded resulting from the violent suppression of the protests was significant. She stated, “I have seen numerous reports from medical staff and hospital employees in several Iranian provinces indicating that security forces raided medical facilities.”
Sato added that she had received testimonies from families of injured people who went to hospitals the day after the protests to have their relatives admitted, but they could not find them or obtain any information about their fate. In an official response, the Iranian mission to the United Nations in Geneva declined to comment on these allegations. However, Reuters quoted several medical professionals inside Iran who confirmed the accuracy of Sato’s statements. The Special Rapporteur also warned that the Iranian authorities’ tendency to label protesters as “terrorists” or “insurgents” constitutes a “deep-seated problem.” She asserted that this rhetoric is being used to justify the violent crackdown against what she described as “an internal movement deeply rooted in Iranian society.”
