ALBAWABA - A shocking report released by French newspaper Le Figaro detailed that the Iranian government requested a ransom between 3,000 euros and 10,000 euros (equal to between $3,573 and $11,911) to agree to hand over the bodies of protesters to their families.
The newspaper clarified that it has been necessary to pay to recover the remains of protesters or to obtain the release of prisoners, since the massacre of January 8 and 9, during which thousands were shot dead by Iranian security forces for calling for regime fall.
An Iranian exile designer called Sara, who lives in Turkey, told Le Figaro that one of her old friends was killed on Jan. 8, his parents went from hospital to another to find his body, and when they found him, a government official asked for money to hand his body over.
She said, "In order to recover his remains, an official imposed a choice on them: pay the hagh-e tir, the 'price of the bullet' that killed him, or declare that he was a militiaman of the regime, assassinated by 'terrorists' directed by Israel and America."
According to the French media outlet, the relatives of thousands of victims of early January were forced to pay amounts ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 euros to get the remains of their loved ones.
Le Figaro also gathered information from other sources and confirmed that the Iranian regime profited financially from the latest protests.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, HARANA, reported that at least 6,126 people have been killed in the crackdown on nationwide protests, which erupted in late December against the deteriorating economic situation at first and then evolved to become anti-regime demosntrations.
On the other hand, Iran's government placed the death toll at 3,117.
