I RAN From Iran 

The anniversary of the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ protests offers a stark reminder for countries around the world of the need to initiate criminal investigations into the heinous crimes committed by the Iranian authorities under universal jurisdiction. Government statements calling on the Iranian authorities to halt the unlawful use of firearms against protesters, stop torturing detainees, and release all individuals detained for peacefully exercising their human rights remain as crucial as ever. These actions show victims they are not alone in their darkest hour.

Flagrant lies over hundreds of unlawful killings

Between September and December 2022, security forces unleashed a brutal militarized crackdown, unlawfully killing hundreds of protesters and bystanders, including dozens of children. More than half of those unlawfully killed belonged to the oppressed Baluchi and Kurdish ethnic minorities.

Not only have the authorities failed to hold those suspected of criminal responsibility to account, but they also spent the past year telling barefaced lies to both the public and the international community, blaming the deaths on “rioters”, “unknown persons”, suicides or accidents. In parallel, they aggravated the suffering of victims’ families through relentless harassment and intimidation.

Mass arbitrary detentions and summons

During the uprising and in the months that followed, the authorities arbitrarily arrested tens of thousands of men, women and children, including protesters, human rights defenders and minority rights activists. Those arrested include at least 90 journalists and other media workers and 60 lawyers, including those representing families of individuals unlawfully killed. Scores of other lawyers were summoned for interrogations.

Ahead of the anniversary, the authorities have intensified their campaign of arbitrary arrests targeting, among others, family members of those unlawfully killed, and forcing thousands of university students to sign undertakings not to participate in anniversary protests.

A tsunami of torture

During the uprising, security forces unlawfully fired live ammunition and metal pellets to disperse and terrorize protesters, causing injuries amounting to torture or other ill-treatment to thousands, including blinding, loss of limbs and impaired mobility. The authorities also oversaw the widespread commission of torture and other ill-treatment against thousands of detained protesters, including children.

Many survivors are still living with the long-term physical and psychological trauma as a result of their torture.

Execution of protesters

Over the past year, the authorities have increasingly used the death penalty as a tool of political repression to instil fear among the public, arbitrarily executing seven men in relation to the uprising following grossly unfair sham trials.

Some were executed for alleged crimes such as damage to public property and others in relation to the deaths of security forces during the protests.

All were executed after Iran’s Supreme Court rubberstamped their unjust convictions and sentences despite a lack of evidence and without carrying out investigations into their allegations of torture.

Dozens remain at risk of execution or being sentenced to death in connection with the protests.