Families of protesters killed during ongoing demonstrations in Iran have alleged that authorities are demanding large sums of money to hand over the bodies of their loved ones.

According to a report by BBC, many bodies are being kept in hospital mortuaries and medical centres across the country.

Rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has said that at least 2,435 people have been killed since protests began on December 29, 2024.

Several families have told BBC that they were asked to pay large amounts of money to receive the bodies.

In the northern city of Rasht, one family said they were asked to pay 700 million tomans, around $5,000, to collect their relative’s body. They said the body was kept at Poursina Hospital mortuary, along with at least 70 other deceased protesters.

In another case in Tehran, a family said they were turned away after being told they would have to pay one billion tomans, roughly $7,000, to retrieve the body of their son, a Kurdish seasonal construction worker.

The problem has become so common that some hospital staff have reportedly begun warning families early.

BBC Persian was told about a woman who did not know her husband had been killed. On January 9, she received a call on her husband’s phone from hospital staff. They told her to come quickly and collect the body before security forces arrived and demanded money.

Reports also say that officials at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra mortuary have offered to release bodies without payment, but only under certain conditions.

Families were allegedly asked to claim that the deceased were members of the Basij paramilitary force who were killed by protesters. One family member told BBC Persian they were also asked to attend a pro-government rally.

"We were asked to participate in a pro-government rally and portray the body as that of a martyr. We did not agree to this," they said.

In one separate incident in Tehran, families reportedly broke into a mortuary after fearing authorities might seize the bodies. They stayed there and guarded the remains until they could arrange private transport.

The protests began after Iran’s currency sharply lost value, but later grew into demonstrations against the country’s clerical leadership.

Security forces have responded with force, leading to thousands of deaths and arrests, according to rights groups.