The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) strongly condemns the Iranian authorities’ egregious use of widespread, excessive and lethal force to suppress ongoing anti-government demonstrations, in violation of the protestors’ rights to life, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
Since nationwide protests–calling for changes to the country’s governance in response to the crippling economic conditions Iranian citizens have been enduring–began on 28 December 2025, the Iranian authorities have reportedly unlawfully killed over 3,000 people, most of them demonstrators. Additionally, the authorities have arbitrarily arrested and detained over 16,700 individuals since the demonstrations began, with many detainees being subjected to treatment amounting to torture.
“Yet again, the Iranian authorities are resorting to mass killings, excessive force and widespread arbitrary arrests to suppress protests,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. “The international community must immediately act to put pressure on the Iranian authorities to end these crimes and to ensure accountability.”
On 3 January 2026, following a week of protests, the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for “rioters” to be “put in their place”. Since then, mass unlawful killings as a result of the Iranian authorities’ intentional or indiscriminate use of live fire at protest sites across Iran have been reported, including in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz, Neyshabur, Najafabad and Ilam, with a pattern emerging suggesting that the Iranian security forces intentionally and systematically shot protestors and bystanders in the head and eyes.
On 8 January, the Iranian authorities imposed an internet shutdown throughout the country, in part in an attempt to hamper reports of their brutal crackdown on the nationwide protests. Despite this, evidence has continued to emerge seemingly attesting to the scale of the Iranian authorities’ widespread use of lethal force against protestors, including from a morgue site in Tehran with bodies lying in the entrance to the overwhelmed facility.
On 14 January, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, pledged the use of capital punishment and expedited criminal proceedings against those arrested in connection with the protests, thus compounding the authorities’ blatant disregard for the protesters’ rights to life and to a fair trial. However, following Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei’s statement, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, declared that executions of protestors would not take place.
The ongoing violent crackdown on peaceful protests is but the latest example of the Iranian authorities’ complete disregard for their citizens’ human rights and has been characterized, once again, by the perpetration of serious crimes under international law. Most recently, in 2022, anti-government protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini in security forces’ custody following her arrest for purportedly failing to comply with hijab-wearing rules. The Iranian authorities responded to the nationwide wave of protests with excessive force, killing at least 348 people, including 50 children. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFM) found that the patterns of egregious human rights violations committed then, which are similar to the ongoing ones, included the crimes against humanity of murder, torture, imprisonment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts.
Despite repeated international calls, including by the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures and the FFM, for an end to, and accountability for, the Iranian authorities’ current violent crackdown on protesters, Iran’s use of excessive force against them has continued with impunity.
In light of the above, the ICJ calls on Iran to:
i. Immediately issue orders to all security forces to halt the use of excessive and lethal force against protesters and bystanders, and guarantee the right of peaceful assembly;
ii. Immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for their peaceful participation in, or support for, anti-government demonstrations;
iii. Ensure that no detainee is subjected to torture or other ill-treatment;
iv. Immediately cease the use of expedited criminal proceedings and the imposition of death sentences in violation of defendants’ fair trial rights and right to life, including against those who have participated in or otherwise supported the recent demonstrations;
v. Immediately restore full access to the internet and telecommunication services throughout the country, and guarantee the right to freedom of expression;
vi. Guarantee the right of all Iranian citizens to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections by holding free and fair presidential and legislative elections, in line with international standards; and
vii. Ensure that a prompt, independent, impartial and thorough investigation be conducted into these egregious human rights violations with a view to holding the perpetrators accountable.
The ICJ also calls on all States to:
i. Issue unequivocal public condemnations of the Iranian authorities’ ongoing brutal crackdown and apply diplomatic pressure to them to ensure the non-repetition of gross human rights violations;
ii. Ensure that the FFM be able to effectively carry out its mandate through adequate resources; and
iii. Exercise universal jurisdiction over Iranian officials allegedly responsible for crimes under international law committed against protesters and bystanders, including the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and imprisonment.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia@icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj@icj.org
