Sri Lanka, Jan. 20 -- The UN Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Iran on Friday (Jan 23), with proponents aiming to discuss "alarming violence" used against protesters, a document showed on Tuesday.

An Iranian official said authorities have verified at least 5,000 deaths in the protests, which are the biggest demonstrations since 2022, prompting UN rights chief Volker Turk to condemn the violence.

"A special session is needed because of the importance and urgency of the situation, in particular due to credible reports of alarming violence, crackdowns on protesters and violations of international human rights law across the country," according to a letter written by Iceland's ambassador Einar Gunnarsson on behalf of a ...