Allegations of medical abuse inside Iran’s detention system are growing, with opposition-linked media and human rights activists warning of a “growing pattern of deaths” among people arrested during recent mass anti-regime protests.

According to a report by Iran International, detainees swept up in the government crackdown are being injected with unidentified substances while in custody, often without access to proper medical care. Witnesses and activists cited by the outlet say the injections have, in some cases, led to severe medical complications and death.

“One massacre happened on the street,” Shiva Mahbobi, a spokesperson for the UK-based Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran, told Iran International. “Another may be happening quietly in prisons and detention centers.”

The claims emerge after nationwide protests erupted in December over Iran’s worsening economic conditions, spiraling inflation and long-running grievances with the Islamic Republic. Security forces responded with lethal force, drawing widespread international condemnation.

Iranian authorities have acknowledged that more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest. Independent monitors dispute that figure. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has confirmed at least 6,842 deaths, the vast majority protesters killed by security forces — while cautioning that the true toll is likely far higher.

Iran International reported that detainees are being denied outside medical treatment and are instead receiving injections of unknown origin while in custody. In one case cited by an unnamed source, a 16-year-old girl reportedly fell into a coma after being injected during detention. In another case described by Mahbobi, a young woman died just one day after being released from custody.

“We don’t know what they are injecting,” Mahbobi said. “What we know is that people are being injected in custody, and some of them are dying.”

Iranian officials have not publicly addressed the allegations and have previously rejected accusations of systemic abuse of detainees, characterizing protest-related arrests as lawful actions against rioters and foreign-backed “sedition.” Tehran has repeatedly accused Western governments and opposition media of spreading disinformation to undermine the state.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)