The photographs were taken inside a forensic mortuary in southern Tehran and, in many cases, represent the only way families were able to identify their relatives. A significant number of bodies were so badly disfigured that recognition was impossible. In 69 cases, victims were labelled as unidentified, while only 28 had tags displaying clearly legible names.
Among the bodies where a date of death was recorded, more than 100 were marked as having died on 9 January, one of the deadliest nights since protests erupted in the capital. That evening, widespread clashes broke out between demonstrators and security forces, with fires reported across the city and chants directed against Iran’s supreme leader and the Islamic Republic. The unrest followed a call for nationwide protests by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah.
The images provide only a partial glimpse into what is believed to be a far higher death toll resulting from state violence since the demonstrations began.
BBC Verify has been tracking the protests since they erupted in late December, but near-total internet blackouts imposed by Iranian authorities have made it extremely difficult to document the full extent of the crackdown.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly acknowledged that thousands of people have been killed, while placing the blame on the United States, Israel and what he described as “seditionists”.
Despite the internet shutdown entering its third week, some material has continued to emerge from inside the country. Hundreds of close-up images taken at the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre were leaked to BBC Verify, which analysed 392 photographs corresponding to 326 identified individuals. Sources familiar with the site said the true number of bodies in the mortuary likely runs into the thousands.
One source, whose identity has been withheld for safety reasons, described the shock of entering the complex and encountering victims ranging in age from 12 or 13 to people in their 60s and 70s. “It was overwhelming,” the source said.
According to the same account, families and friends gathered around a screen inside the mortuary, watching as hundreds of images of the dead were displayed over several hours in an attempt to identify loved ones. Many bodies were unrecognisable due to the severity of their injuries. In one case, a man’s face was so swollen that his eyes were barely visible; in another, a victim still had a breathing tube in his mouth, suggesting he died after receiving medical treatment.
In some instances, families asked for images to be replayed and enlarged to confirm identities. In others, recognition was immediate, with witnesses describing scenes of people collapsing to the floor or crying out in distress.
Many of the photographs show unzipped body bags with documents placed near victims’ faces, identifying them by name, identification number or date of death. In some cases, the only identifying item was a bank card placed on top of the body bag, possibly the victim’s last remaining possession.
BBC Verify also independently corroborated videos filmed at the same mortuary, which appear to document the brutality inflicted on protesters. One video shows the body of what appears to be a child; another shows a man with a clear gunshot wound to the centre of his head. Both were considered too distressing to publish.
Some Iranians have managed to post the names of victims killed by security forces when briefly accessing the internet via satellite services such as Starlink or through networks in neighbouring countries. BBC Verify cross-referenced names from the mortuary images with social media posts and found five matches, but chose not to publish the names due to the inability to contact families.
The investigation also confirmed protests in at least 71 towns and cities across Iran since 28 December, based on verified video footage, although the true number of affected locations is likely higher. The limited images that have emerged show burned-out vehicles on the streets and audio recordings capturing sustained gunfire during demonstrations in Tehran.
The ongoing internet blackout continues to prevent a comprehensive assessment of the death toll. However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) estimates that more than 4,000 people have been killed since the protests began.
