JAKARTA - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged Iranian authorities to show "maximum restraint" and avoid using "unnecessary or disproportionate" force against demonstrators.
"The Secretary-General is appalled by reports of violence and excessive use of force by Iranian authorities against demonstrators in various locations across the Islamic Republic of Iran, resulting in dozens of deaths," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, Anadolu (12/1).
He further said that Secretary-General Guterres stressed that all Iranian citizens should be able to express their "grievances" peacefully without fear, stating that the right to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly enshrined in international law must be "fully respected and protected."
The UN Secretary-General also called for measures that would allow access to information in the country, including restoring communications.
It is known that the protests broke out on December 28 in the Grand Bazaar of Tehran in connection with the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and the worsening economic conditions, which then spread to several cities.
The London-based internet monitoring group NetBlocks said on Sunday that Iran had been experiencing an internet blackout for more than 72 hours as the country entered the fourth day of a national internet shutdown.
Meanwhile, the US-based human rights group HRANA reported the deaths of 490 demonstrators and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested, although there has been no official estimate of the number of casualties.
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