Iranian Authorities Continue to Arrest Demonstrators

Iran’s security services continued arresting
demonstrators despite existing controversy over deaths caused by their usage of
excessive force.
In light of the contention, Revolutionary Guards
commander Mohammad Reza Yazdi announced opening an investigation into shootings
and the possibility of “innocent people having been targeted.”
Walking back from an earlier harsher statement,
Yazdi, who is in charge of security in Tehran, has admitted that some
protesters may have been "wrongly targeted and killed" by security
forces.
He said due to the chaotic situation "it is not
currently possible to confirm or refute such reports with any degree of
certainty."
Yazdi's remarks followed reports that said many of
those killed during the protest had been shot in the head or chest, showing an
intention to kill. However, Yazdi claimed that some protesters were shot from
behind by fellow protesters but was not able to substantiate his claim.
Meanwhile, some government officials such as
presidential aide Hesamoddin Ashna, who had previously branded all protesters
as thugs and demanded severe punishment for them, is now saying not all
protesters were "rioters." He said that "innocent people have
been shot to death."
Critics have said on social media that it was too
late for such remarks by officials who have already made harsh statements
against protesters.
Iranian authorities have not released an official
toll on the number of dead and detained, but official IRNA reports showed that
the arrests continued in the provinces of Tehran, Fars, East Azerbaijan and
Hormozgan between Friday and Sunday.
Some opposition websites, such as Kalemeh, have
reported that over 150 protesters shot dead have been buried in only one
cemetery in Tehran. Other reports say over 100 bodies of those shot to death
were taken away from a medical center in Shahryar near Tehran.
In another development, a number of Iranian artists,
mainly filmmakers, have issued a statement in condemnation of the government's
violent suppression of the protest. The artists' statement also came following
two weeks of silence which was harshly criticized by Iranians on social media.