Nearly 5,000 people were arrested during Iran's bloody month of protests

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February 5, 2018 4:51 AM

The protests were Iran's biggest unrest in nearly a decade and 492 people remain in custody.

Iran has reportedly arrested nearly 5,000 people during recent protests.
The protests began in late December and have continued through 2018, and are the country's biggest unrest in a decade.
New protests have been sparked by the #WhiteWednesdays movement on social media, have seen women resisting the country's mandatory hijab laws.
The US has been outspoken in its support of continued protests.

Iran has arrested nearly 5,000 people during recent protests, according to an Iranian member of Parliament.

Alireza Rahimi posted on messaging service Telegram last week that local authorities arrested thousands of demonstrators in January, reports Associated Press.

Rahimi said most of the detainees have been released but 492 remained in custody pending investigation.

But further information about the arrestees remain unclear.

Rahimi reportedly confirmed 4,972 arrests with the head of Tehran's prison service. But, according to Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), Rahimi said 73 percent of these people were men while Associated Press quoted Rahimi as saying that number was 95%.

A judiciary spokesman told ILNA it was not clear if all of those arrested in January had been involved with the ongoing protests.

Early protests expressed anger over rising egg prices

Iran's recent protests began as a relatively small venture on December 28 in Mashhad, Iran's second largest city, but soon gained traction and have continued into 2018.

Initial protests expressed anger over the economy and

Protests quickly moved to target Iran's political leaders and calls have been made for the country's supreme leader

The brave #IranianWoman is ... @ Ahmad Batebi

Women of all ages reportedly joined in to protest the strict hijab laws.

An elderly woman in Iran joins the protest against forced hijab

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