Iran Human Rights has warned of the risk of executions and “extrajudicial” killings of detained protesters, citing the Islamic Republic’s long record of issuing death sentences based on forced confessions.
In a report published on Wednesday, February 3, the organization stated that, in addition to the Islamic Republic’s history of executions, the extensive and systematic use of lethal force by the Iranian authorities with the clear intent to kill during the latest round of protests—especially after the nationwide internet shutdown—makes this risk extremely serious.
Iran Human Rights estimates that following the bloody crackdown on the January protests, more than 40,000 people are currently being held in detention centers, prisons, and unofficial or secret facilities under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence.
The organization described the situation of those detained in connection with the protests as an “emergency requiring immediate attention and action by the international community.”
A complete disregard for fair trial standards, along with the Islamic Republic’s record of hasty and secret executions, were cited as further reasons for the warning.
The report emphasized that many detainees are being held in conditions of “total isolation and absolute lack of information,” without access to their families or lawyers and entirely outside any effective judicial oversight.
At present, following public orders by senior officials of the Islamic Republic—including the head of the judiciary—to conduct “expedited trials” and impose “severe punishments,” and the systematic labeling of protesters as “terrorists,” “foreign agents,” or “mohareb” (those waging war against God), many defendants have been charged with offenses that, under Iranian law, can lead to the death penalty.
Since the first week of the protests, state media have broadcast hundreds of forced confessions extracted under pressure, torture, and threats against detainees and their families.
Iran Human Rights further reported that it has received credible but as yet unconfirmed reports that a number of detainees have been secretly executed in several prisons.
Radio Farda has not been able to independently verify or refute these reports, and Iran Human Rights has stated that “these reports are currently under investigation.”
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, said:
“The Islamic Republic seeks to prevent the emergence of new waves of protest by establishing a reign of terror and to ensure the survival of an unstable and fragile system. Execution is the most effective tool this government uses to instill fear in society.”
He added: “We are deeply concerned that the mass killing of protesters in the streets is now continuing inside prisons and detention centers.”
The director of Iran Human Rights also stated that “thousands of detained protesters, defenseless and held in inhumane conditions, are at risk of torture, enforced disappearance, and the immediate danger of execution or killing following show trials.”
