The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has expressed grave alarm and outrage over what it describes as an intensified and deadly crackdown by Iranian authorities on nationwide protests across the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Protests erupted on 28 December following soaring inflation and the collapse of Iran’s national currency, but quickly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations against corruption and state repression.
According to recent reports cited by IBAHRI, at least 5,000 protesters have been killed since security forces began suppressing the unrest. Human rights groups warn that the actual death toll may be significantly higher due to a deliberate nationwide internet and communications blackout imposed since 8 January 2026, which has severely restricted access to information.
The non-governmental organisation Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reports that more than 16,000 people have been arbitrarily arrested and detained across 186 cities affected by the protests. Many detainees are being held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or family members, placing them at serious risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
IBAHRI said Iranian security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian police force (FARAJA), have responded with what it described as unlawful and excessive force. Reports indicate the use of live ammunition, military-grade weapons, shotguns firing metal pellets, water cannons and tear gas against protesters.
As a result, demonstrators and bystanders, including children, have reportedly suffered severe injuries, including gunshot wounds and head and eye injuries, leaving many blinded, maimed or paralysed and in urgent need of medical care.
IBAHRI Co-Chair, Mark Stephens CBE, accused Iranian authorities of conducting a campaign of terror against civilians.
“The unlawful and excessive use of force against protestors in Iran has become state policy, in violation of Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution and Articles 9 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Stephens said.
“This is not law enforcement – it is the organised maiming and slaughter of civilians, with attempts to conceal evidence of these crimes. The international community must act to stop this cycle of rampant impunity.”
The institute also raised serious concern over statements by senior Iranian officials reportedly branding protesters as war criminals, terrorists, agents of foreign powers and mohareb (enemies of God), an offence punishable by death under Iranian law. Iran’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, was quoted as saying all protesters would be prosecuted as mohareb and that their cases should be handled “without leniency, mercy or compromise.”
IBAHRI Co-Chair, Hina Jilani, warned that such rhetoric signals an imminent risk of mass executions following what she described as sham trials.
“Iranian officials are openly calling for protesters to be processed through the Revolutionary Courts and condemned to death,” Jilani said.
“We witnessed the same machinery of repression during the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protests in 2022 — expedited trials, forced confessions and executions. IBAHRI opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and condemns its use as a tool to silence legitimate demands for freedom, dignity and reform.”
She called on Iranian authorities to immediately halt executions, overturn death sentences issued against protesters and comply with international human rights obligations.
IBAHRI Director and Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, condemned the prolonged internet shutdown, describing it as a deliberate attempt to conceal serious human rights abuses.
“The deliberate shutdown of internet access in Iran is a calculated strategy to suppress information and conceal abuses that may amount to international crimes,” Kennedy said.
“We demand the immediate restoration of internet and communications services and full respect for the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”
In a statement of solidarity, IBAHRI said it stands with the people of Iran in their demand for dignity, justice and fundamental freedoms. The organisation called for an immediate end to the violent crackdown and the unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained, with full access to medical and legal assistance.
While cautioning against unlawful unilateral military intervention by third states, IBAHRI urged the international community to take coordinated action in response to what it described as repeated and documented crimes under international law. These include mass killings, torture, rape, enforced disappearances and mass arbitrary detentions.
The institute called on states to proscribe the IRGC, impose targeted sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes on those responsible, urge the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court, and initiate criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
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