After Iranian cities were rocked by protests over the fuel subsidy cut, information out of the country has been scarce due to a nationwide internet shut-down. Government officials have been quiet — aside from making vague statements praising themselves for suppressing the protests — and have not shared many details of the number of deaths or arrests. 

According to Amnesty International, there have been 143 deaths from the protests that began Nov. 15 after the administration of President Hassan Rouhani announced the fuel subsidy cut. While government officials have remained tight-lipped about this number, Iranian parliamentarian Ghasem Mirzaei Nikou told journalist Farzaneh Aeini that the number of those killed was more than 130. Nikou added that the number of arrests is unknown.

Ali Asghar Jahanghir, head of Iranian prisons, claimed, “A considerable number of those arrested have been released.” While he did not give a number, he said that three out of 30 Iranian provinces did not have any protest-related arrests. He advised family members of those arrested to contact the judiciary rather than the prisons. 

Prosecutor General Mohammad-Jaffar Montazeri met with a number of arrestees at one prison accompanied by a camera crew on Nov. 23. Montazeri addressed the seated prisoners, whose faces were not shown. He said that efforts were being made to address their cases as soon as possible, adding, “Either it was you, or your were provoked by others, or some individuals were doing things behind the scenes.” Montazeri later caused a minor controversy when he claimed that the prisoners were “satisfied” with the conditions inside the prison.