Although the government has played down the scale of the prison abuses, some detainees' relatives have come forward recently to confirm them, mostly to opposition-linked Web sites that have provided credible information in the past, including roozonline.com and gooya.com.

Some deaths have been further documented with photographs or videotapes. Hospital officials have described receiving bodies of those killed in protests, with the total far in excess of 20, the government's initial figure. It is difficult to confirm such reports independently, given the restrictions on reporting in Iran.