GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) — The United Nations rights body condemned Iran on Friday for rights abuses and mandated an investigation into a recent crackdown on anti-government protests that killed thousands of people.

“I call on the Iranian authorities to reconsider, to pull back, and to end their brutal repression,” High Commissioner Volker Turk told an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, voicing concerns for detainees.

Turk highlighted some of the atrocities and continuing repression.

“We have indications that the security forces made mass arrests in several cities, even pursuing injured people into hospitals, and detaining lawyers, human rights defenders, activists, and ordinary civilians,” Turk said.

“The Tehran Prosecutor’s Office has reportedly opened criminal cases against athletes, actors, people involved in the movie industry, and the owners of cafes, on charges of supporting the protests,” he added

He also noted that the crackdown intensified on January 8, with security forces using live ammunition against demonstrators, resulting in the deaths of “thousands of........

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