HOW THE IRAN UPRISING UNFOLDED AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE VICTIMS OF THE CRACKDOWN

Paste BN' Data and Forensics team looks into the lives and deaths of protesters killed by Iran's regime

A week ago, Kiarash stood inside a warehouse where the bodies of those killed in protests were being stored. As security guards watched on, he searched through the dead.

In an interview with Paste BN after fleeing Iran, he described searching for the body of his sister-in-law's friend, a young woman shot through the neck at a protest.

Among thousands of victims, many stacked on top of each other, he found her.

"There were so many children there," he said. "They were in small bags - thrown between two warehouses."

He described a mother who found her child among the bodies. "She was shouting 'this is my baby…please don't touch her'".

Kiarash went to a protest the next day, where he narrowly escaped being shot himself.

"The people are asking for what they want," he said. "But no one is listening to them. They are replying with bullets, with heavy machine guns."

A government-imposed internet blackout has made it almost impossible to see the full scale of what is happening inside Iran. But Kiarash's testimony is a rare glimpse into the violence unfolding.

Searching for the dead

Human rights organisations estimate that thousands have died, with some of the dead being verified through videos from morgues like the one Kiarash visited - showing hundreds of body bags, some with names written on them.

Paste BN' Data and Forensics team has used these videos, along with reports on social media, information from human rights agencies and interviews with family members to verify deaths.

We have compiled a list of around 200 names, and verified over 100, allowing us to learn about the lives of people killed in the uprising.

Most of the deaths we have verified happened on 8 January - the day the internet was shut off. And people have been killed at protests all over the country.

This is only a small snapshot, but in the absence of official information, it provides clues about the crackdown on the protesters and what happened to the victims.

Cause of death

In almost all the cases we have reviewed, it's clear that the vast majority of victims were killed by gunfire. But our reporting also reveals inconsistencies in how the regime is officially recording how they died.

Sourena Golgoun was 18, and lived on the coast. In his last Instagram post, from November last year, he said, "another year passed with all its good and bad".

Just eight weeks later, the young chemical engineering student, who loved karate and playing piano, would be dead.

Sourena Golgoun playing piano

"They shot him from behind. The bullet tore his heart and lungs, and he died at the spot," Mohammad Golgoun, Sourena Golgoun's cousin, told Paste BN.

Mohammad claims the authorities threatened people coming to the morgue to collect the bodies of loved ones.

"They put pressure to say... [victims] were killed by terrorists, not with the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)," said Mohammad. "We know that it's not true, we know it."

Iranian authorities blame the unrest on foreign enemies, accusing people they call terrorists of attacking security forces.

In a letter to the UN Secretary General on 14 January, Iran's foreign minister wrote: "Peaceful protests started from 28 December 2025 on economic grounds were sabotaged by terrorist elements who turned them into armed riots.

"The high casualties reflect the level of self-restraint that was exercised by the law enforcement officers on one hand, and the level of violence that was practised by terrorist elements against them on the other."

Amir Ali Haydari, 18, attended a protest in Kermanshah with his classmates on 8 January, and never came home.

"He was shot in the heart, and as he was taking his last breath, they hit him in the head with the butt of a gun so many times that his brain was scattered on the ground," his cousin, Diako Haydari, told Paste BN.

Diako says his death certificate listed his cousin's cause of death as a fall from a height.

"The misrepresentation of causes of death is not new," says human rights lawyer Leila Alikarami. "What is striking today is the apparent scale and consistency of this practice.

"When similar causes of death appear repeatedly in cases where witness testimony, medical evidence, or video footage point to shootings or violent repression, it strongly suggests a deliberate effort to conceal state responsibility.

"From a legal perspective, this undermines the right to truth, obstructs accountability, and violates Iran's obligations under international human rights law."

'Bullet' fees

Families have told Paste BN they are being forced to pay money to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones, with some saying they have been asked to pay up to £7,000.

During previous crackdowns in Iran, there have also been claims that the authorities ordered bereaved relatives to pay a "bullet fee" to retrieve a body - effectively money paid to cover the cost of the ammunition used in the killings.

An Iranian woman living outside the country, who has been receiving messages from her family and others within Iran, told Paste BN the authorities were demanding families hand over a large payment of 1bn tomans (between £5,000-7,000) for them to release the bodies of their loved ones.

According to the Norway-based human rights organisation Hengaw, some families could have paid up to £21,000.

Hengaw said the authorities only handed over the bodies once they had been paid. A statement on Iranian state TV noted mortuary and morgue services should be free.

What we know about the victims so far

There is no pattern in who the regime is targeting among the victims Paste BN has verified. No one has been safe from the bullets of the security forces. Though the majority of the victims we have verified are men and boys, we have looked into the lives of six women who were killed.

In addition to her passion for clothing, Nazli Janparvar's social media posts reveal her opinionated stance on politics.

After her death, Iranian human rights group Tavana Educational Institute posted a message she had sent them in 2022. She wrote: "Fight, fight until freedom. For now, the only goal is to overthrow the regime."

Nazli was shot and killed during anti-government demonstrations in Tehran on 8 January, the deadliest day in our analysis.

Though we do not know where exactly she was killed, our analysis of videos from Tehran that day shows security forces opening fire on unarmed civilians and protesters setting fire to a police kiosk in the city.

Also killed at protests in Tehran on 8 January was teenager Alireza Seydi. His funeral was held later that week, in Abdanan, western Iran.

Videos posted online from Abdanan show what is reported to be his funeral. A coffin is seen being carried through a large crowd that has gathered.

Another video shows an armed man shooting as the funeral reportedly takes place.

We may never know the names of thousands

Our analysis looks at over 100 people who have been killed, but it is only a small snapshot into the thousands that human rights groups estimate to have died in total.

Paste BN will continue to track the lives and deaths of those killed in protests, but thousands remain unaccounted for.

The internet blackout has lasted over a week - as long as it continues to last, it will be difficult to hear the stories of those in Iran. We may never learn of all of their names - and their fates.

"As soon as I try to close my eyes and sleep, the first image that comes to my mind is images of the morgues," said an Iranian woman in Canada, who spoke to Paste BN on condition of anonymity.

"I feel like I'm there - standing among the bodies - looking for my friends and family."

She has been waiting for more than a week to hear from loved ones in Iran, not knowing if they are alive or dead.

Before communications were cut, friends who were protesting sent her what she now fears will be their final messages to the world.

One wrote: "If I am dead, tell the world that I am dying for liberty."