Source: Amnesty International –
Iranian authorities are using the cover of what they call “wartime conditions” to intensify their repression of dissent through mass arbitrary arrests, accelerated grossly unfair judicial proceedings, politically motivated executions, harsh prison sentences, and asset confiscations, Amnesty International said today.
Since the unlawful military attack launched by the USA and Israel against Iran on 28 February 2026, Iranian authorities have arbitrarily arrested more than 6,000 people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, dissidents, and members of ethnic and religious minorities. Senior judicial officials have ordered expedited prosecutions against those arrested, including on capital charges, amid widespread concerns of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, and the use of forced “confessions” in grossly unfair sham trials. During the same period, authorities have imposed decades-long prison sentences against individuals and carried out at least 39 political executions.
Authorities systematically isolated more than 90 million people through an internet shutdown, violating their right to freedom of information, through the longest and most suffocating internet shutdown on record lasting 88 days, while criminalizing online activity as “espionage,” which is punishable by death. The internet was restored, with restrictions, on 26 May 2026.
“Iranian authorities are exploiting the crisis to further erode the human rights of people in Iran who are already suffering from the devastating consequences of unlawful air strikes by US and Israeli forces, as well as decades of crimes under international law at the hands of the Islamic Republic,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.
“To maintain their grip on power, the authorities have unleashed an all-out assault on people in Iran, targeting anyone who dares to criticize the Islamic Republic, share information about the US or Israeli air strikes or human rights violations with the outside world, or simply attempt to break through what became the longest recorded internet shutdown to communicate with loved ones or access independent information.
“Iranian authorities must lift all remaining restrictions on internet access and stop imposing internet shutdowns on Iran’s population. They must release anyone arbitrarily detained, protect all detainees from torture and other ill-treatment, disclose the fate and whereabouts of those subjected to enforced disappearance, and immediately halt all executions, with a view to establishing an official moratorium on the death penalty.”
Authorities have also openly threatened to commit further mass killings of anyone expressing dissent or advocating for the downfall of the Islamic Republic system and vilified critics as “traitors” and “enemy collaborators”.
The internet blackout imposed by the authorities since 28 February 2026 severely obstructed in-depth documentation of human rights violations. For this press release, Amnesty International spoke to 10 informed sources outside Iran, including victims’ relatives, human rights defenders and journalists with information about violations. The organization also analysed videos published online, reviewed official text messages sent by the authorities, examined official statements and state media reports, and reviewed reports from independent media and human rights organizations based outside Iran.