Iran protests: Fact-checking claims of '15,000 death sentences'

Over 15,000 protesters have been detained by Iranian authorities since unrest began in September

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deleted a social media post containing a misleading claim that Iranian authorities have imposed the death penalty on 15,000 detained protesters.

The claim went viral on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit and TikTok this week.

So far, over 15,000 protesters are estimated to have been arrested in the protests, with over 2,000 officially charged and five sentenced to death by the authorities.

At least 20 protesters are currently facing charges punishable by death, Norway-based Iran Human Rights said, citing official reports.

Most of the detained protesters have yet to face trial.

"Canada denounces the Iranian regime's barbaric decision to impose the death penalty on nearly 15,000 protestors," Mr Trudeau's official account tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday, before deleting it later.

His office later said in a statement to the BBC: "The post was informed by initial reporting that was incomplete and lacked necessary context. Because of that, it has since been deleted."

Asked by the BBC where the claims came from, the Prime Minister's office said "It was based on reporting of serious concerns raised by international human rights advocates warning of possible future sentences, including the death penalty, imposed on thousands of Iranian protesters who have already been detained by the regime."

A story which appeared in Newsweek last Tuesday said the Iranian parliament had "voted overwhelmingly in favour of the death penalty for protesters". This claim was picked up by prominent users on Twitter and Instagram.

The story was later updated to clarify that the parliament had in fact "issued a letter signed by the vast majority of members calling for harsh punishments of protesters".

The BBC has approached Newsweek for comment about the correction.

A widely-shared meme on Instagram claimed "Iran sentences 15,000 to death - as a 'hard lesson' for all rebels". US actress Viola Davis was among a number of celebrities who shared the meme, though she later deleted the post.

The misleading claim of 15,000 death sentences is based on accurate estimates of the number of people arrested by the authorities during the ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, and a misinterpretation of demands by hardline MPs and the head of the judiciary for harsh sentences for protesters.

The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in September after her arrest by the morality police for allegedly violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf. Iran has responded with a brutal and deadly crackdown. Its leaders have portrayed the protests as "riots" instigated by the country's foreign enemies.

At least 326 protesters, including 43 children and 25 women, have been killed, according to Iran Human Rights.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which is also based outside the country, has put the death toll at 344, including 52 children, and said another 15,820 protesters have been detained.

Rights groups warn authorities might be planning "hasty executions" and lengthy prison sentences.

Iran's judiciary has been repeatedly criticised for depriving defendants of the right to fair trials, unrestricted access to lawyers and due process.

Last week, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei declared that "key perpetrators" should be identified as soon as possible and handed sentences that would have a deterrent effect on others.

He warned that "rioters" could be charged with "moharebeh" (enmity against God), "efsad fil-arz" (corruption on Earth) and "baghy" (armed rebellion) - all of which can carry the death penalty in Iran's Sharia-based legal system.

Those possessing and using a weapon or firearm, disrupting national security, or killing someone could receive "qisas" (retaliation in kind), he said.

The overwhelming majority of protesters have been unarmed and peaceful.

Earlier this month, the official Irna agency reported that 227 of the 290 members of Iran's parliament issued a statement to the judiciary demanding "decisive action" against those who had "incited" the protests and "qisas" for those who had "waged war" on the state, which could potentially carry the death penalty.

Following a wave of domestic and international condemnations, an Iranian agency affiliated to parliament denied reports MPs had issued a statement demanding executions, although several hardline MPs had confirmed they put their names to such a statement.

227 of Iran's 290 MPs demanded "decisive action" against protesters in a statement

That statement by MPs led to the spread of misleading claims that parliament had voted to issue the death sentence to all the 15,000 detained protesters. The authority for trying and sentencing protesters rests with the judiciary.

Iran has one of the highest execution rates of any country in the world. It has executed 6,885 individuals since 2010, with murder and drug-related offences cited as the main causes, according to Iran Human Rights.

The regime has previously been widely condemned for mass executions of political prisoners.

In 1988, after a decree by the Islamic Republic's late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the authorities are thought to have executed between 2,800 and 5,000 men and women, who were later buried in unmarked mass graves in what has been called by human rights groups a crime against humanity. The exact number of those executed remains unknown to this day.

In its statement to the BBC, the office of the Prime Minister of Canada said: "Our government continues to unequivocally support the people of Iran and are taking unprecedented action to hold the regime and its enablers accountable".