By Olivia Le Poidevin and Parisa Hafezi

GENEVA/DUBAI, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A U.N. expert on Iran said on Monday she had received reports of protesters linked to nationwide demonstrations being removed from hospitals and detained by Iranian security forces - a major violation of the right to medical care under international law.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, also told Reuters in an interview via video link that families were facing demands for ransoms of $5,000 to $7,000 to retrieve the bodies of loved ones, a crushing burden amid Iran's mounting economic woes.

Anti-government protests that swept across Iran since December have triggered the bloodiest crackdown by authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, drawing international condemnation. Iran has blocked internet access since January 8.

U.S.-based rights group HRANA has put the unrest-related death toll at 5,937, including........

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