Warning: This story contains graphic content which some readers might find distressing.
Images detailing the faces of hundreds who fell victim to Iran's oppressive crackdown on anti-government demonstrations have been leaked to BBC Verify. These photographs, which cannot be shown without blurring due to their graphic nature, reveal the bloodied, swollen, and bruised faces of at least 326 victims, including 18 women.
On display in a mortuary in southern Tehran, these images serve as a crucial means for families striving to identify their deceased loved ones. Many of the bodies were too disfigured to be recognized, with 69 individuals unnamed and marked simply as John or Jane Doe, suggesting their identities were undetermined when the photos were taken. Only 28 of the victims were photographed with labels bearing identifiable names.
Additionally, over 100 victims had labels with recorded dates of death, notably pointing to 9 January, one of the deadliest nights for protesters in Tehran. On this date, the city's streets erupted in flames amid clashes with security forces, as demonstrators voiced opposition to Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic Republic. This surge in unrest followed calls for nationwide protests by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the former shah. The leaked photos present a partial view of the thousands presumed to have perished at the hands of the Iranian state.
Since the protests erupted in late December, BBC Verify has meticulously tracked their spread across Iran. However, the near-total internet blackout enforced by Iranian authorities has significantly hindered documentation of the government's violent measures against dissenters. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly admitted to the deaths of several thousand people, assigning blame to the US, Israel, and 'seditionists.' Despite the ongoing blackout, now in its third week, some individuals have managed to disseminate information. Hundreds of victim photographs from inside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre were leaked to BBC Verify, which analyzed 392 photos and identified 326 individuals, with some pictured multiple times from different angles.
Sources estimate the mortuary’s true death toll could be in the thousands. An anonymous source expressed their shock at the level of devastation witnessed in the mortuary, revealing that the victims ranged from as young as 12 or 13 to 60 and 70-year-olds. 'It was just too much,' they recounted. Amid the mortuary’s chaos, family members and friends huddled around a screen trying to identify their loved ones, while hundreds of images of the deceased streamed by.
The slideshow reportedly lasted for hours, with many injuries rendering identification challenging. One man's face was so swollen his eyes were hardly visible, while another had a breathing tube still in place, suggesting death after medical treatment. Some families, unable to immediately recognize their kin, requested close-up reviews of the images. Others, upon recognizing their loved ones, collapsed and screamed with grief.
Unzipped body bags often displayed papers near the victims' faces, noting names, ID numbers, or death dates. In some instances, the only identifier was a bank card placed on a body bag - a final possession. Separately, BBC Verify confirmed videos from the same mortuary, evidencing the brutality inflicted.