Further, the authorities have continued to respond to protests with excessive and unlawful force. Anti-government protests that erupted in late December 2017 were met with a heavy-handed response by state forces, reportedly resulting in at least 21 deaths and hundreds of arrests.34 In November 2019, authorities violently repressed protests across the country.35 36 Reportedly, the death toll ranges from verified reports of 304,37 to unconfirmed reports of up to 1,500 deaths,38 and the number of those injured by security forces is estimated at several thousand.39Around 7,000 persons were arrested and detained according to a spokesperson for Iran’s parliamentary committee for national security and foreign policy, with trials ongoing, some resulting in death sentences as well as long prison sentences.40 41 As of January 2021, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not engaged in investigations consistent with international standards into the reported incidents that occurred during the 2019 November protests.42 Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding violations of citizens' rights, such as the Article 90 Commission of the parliament (established based on Article 90 of the Constitution, offering a mechanism to citizens to file complaint against any of the three branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of Citizenship Rights in the country's provincial courts, there is no evidence to suggest that complaints to these bodies are independently reviewed and investigated.43 34 “Iran: protect constitutional right to protest”, ARTICLE 19, 3 January 2018. https://www.article19.org/resources/iran-protectcitizens-right-protest/ 35 Iran: Protests met with violent crackdown and online censorship,” ARTICLE19, 19 November 2020. https://www.article19.org/resources/iran-protests-met-with-violent-crackdown-and-online-censorship/ 36 “Iran: Details released of 304 deaths during protests six months after security forces’ killing spree,” Amnesty International. 20 May 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/iran-details-released-of-304-deaths-during-protests-six-months-after-securityforces-killing-spree/ 37 Iran: Details released of 304 deaths during protests six months after security forces’ killing spree,” Amnesty International. 20 May 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/iran-details-released-of-304-deaths-during-protests-six-months-after-securityforces-killing-spree/ 38 “Special Report: Iran’s leader ordered crackdown on unrest - 'Do whatever it takes to end it',” Reuters. 23 December 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-protests-specialreport/special-report-irans-leader-ordered-crackdown-on-unrest-dowhatever-ittakes-to-end-it-idUSKBN1YR0QR 39 “Iran: Details released of 304 deaths during protests six months after security forces’ killing spree,” Amnesty International. 20 May 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/iran-details-released-of-304-deaths-during-protests-six-months-after-securityforces-killing-spree/ 40 “November Protests; the details of the case of three prisoners who were sentenced to death,” HRANA.5 March 2020. https://www.en-hrana.org/november-protests-the-details-of-the-case-of-three-prisoners-who-were-sentenced-to-death 41 See more : Article 19, Small Media, Human Rights Activists in Iran, Impact Iran, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42315 &Lang=en 42 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020, https://documentsdds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/190/27/PDF/N2019027.pdf?OpenElement 43 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, Abdorrahman Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42313 &Lang=en 4