Tehran, the capital of Iran [Reuters Yonhap News]

Iranian authorities are accused of preventing injured individuals from receiving medical treatment during their crackdown on anti-government protests.

According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based organization, approximately 1,000 protesters were arrested on December 7th, during the height of the demonstrations, and detained in facilities such as Adelabad Prison in the Shiraze area of southwestern Iran.

In relation to this, a source stated, "Many of those detained were injured by birdshot, and there were also teenagers aged 16 to 18 among them."

The source further reported that a teenage boy named Hossein Ahmadzadeh became blind in both eyes and had bullets lodged in his skull. Two 16-year-olds, Kurosh Fatemi and Omid Farahani, both suffered gunshot wounds below the waist, resulting in paralysis of their lower bodies.

The source added, "Instructions were given to the prison medical staff not to treat the injured detainees, with the intention of letting them die from excessive bleeding. Dr. Jafarzadeh, who defied this order and insisted on treatment, was arrested."

IHR, which has been publishing daily casualty figures since the Iranian government began its harsh crackdown on the protests, stated, "We have reported that at least 3,428 protest participants have died to date, but this is a much lower figure than eyewitness accounts and our own estimates."

Furthermore, the organization pointed out that even Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), have mentioned thousands of protest-related deaths, indicating that "Iran's official figures for state violence are much lower than the reality."

The organization also claimed that the number of executions announced by Iranian authorities over the past five years accounted for only 12% of the actual scale identified.

IHR added that external media have reported estimated death tolls of up to 20,000 and will "refrain from publishing daily statistics until sufficient data is secured."