Center for Human Rights in Iran

New legislation proposed by Iranian lawmakers last month will impose a sweeping system of surveillance and control over Iranian citizens’ interactions with the outside world, along with severe penalties for vague “offenses” that include imprisonment for up to thirty years.

The bill, which gives extraordinary powers to intelligence agencies to monitor citizens, significantly increases the Islamic Republic’s intensifying domestic repression and will have profound effects on Iranians’ ability to work, study, and communicate with the world.

🔗 Read the full report on our website: https://iranhumanrights.org/2026/09/irans-sweeping-new-bill-threatens-to-isolate-its-people-from-the-world/

Iranian authorities once again blocked roads leading to Jina Mahsa Amini’s gravesite on the fourth anniversary of her killing in police custody, Amini's mother said today.

A widespread general strike was held Wednesday, September 16, across Kurdish-majority cities, with shops and bazaars closed in Saqqez, Sanandaj, Oshnavieh, Baneh, Bukan, Paveh, Piranshahr, Divandarreh, Qorveh, Kamyaran, Kermanshah, Javanrud, Marivan, Mahabad, and Miandoab. In Saqqez, Amini’s hometown, authorities failed to prevent the market shutdown.

Videos and reports also show a heavy security presence, including anti-riot units and military vehicles. Several Kurdish-majority cities reported severe internet disruptions.

Four years after Jina Mahsa Amini’s killing sparked the historic Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in Iran, those responsible for grave violations continue to enjoy impunity while protesters face imprisonment and ex*****on.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran joins Amnesty International’s call for the UN General Assembly to establish an international criminal justice mechanism for Iran.

Governments around the world should also pursue investigations and prosecutions of Iranian officials suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law, under universal jurisdiction.

Read our statement: https://iranhumanrights.org/2026/09/the-cost-of-impunity-four-years-after-jina-mahsa-aminis-death-thousands-more-are-victims-of-irans-brutal-repression/

As Iran approaches the fourth anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, a diverse group of labor and civil society groups has issued a joint statement reaffirming the movement’s demands for freedom, equality, economic security, and an end to repression and ex*****ons.

The statement is notable for bringing together 10 groups representing different sectors of Iranian society, including oil workers, nurses, retirees, women’s rights activists, and anti-ex*****on campaigners.

Their collective call underscores the continued breadth of opposition to state repression and the persistence of the movement’s core demands beyond the 2022 mass protests.

In September 2022, a mass anti-government uprising swept across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini in state custody after her arrest for “improper” hijab. The uprising was ultimately crushed by a brutal state response that led to over 500 protesters being gunned down in the streets by security forces, countless protesters maimed and injured, hundreds intentionally blinded by gunshots, and tens of thousands arrested.

This new statement from voices inside Iran comes amid an escalating crackdown in the country, including widespread arrests, ex*****ons, restrictions on civil society, and intensified pressure on activists and protesters. In such an environment, publicly speaking out against state policies and repression can carry significant risks for those who sign such statements.

The signatories also link the Woman, Life, Freedom movement to the January 2026 protests, which were met with a deadly state massacre leading to the killing of thousands of protesters, arguing that the movement has continued to evolve despite repeated efforts by the authorities to suppress it. Their statement further rejects the use of war and a heightened security environment as a justification for intensified repression, warning that continued crackdowns have failed to silence popular demands.

Read the full text of their statement below.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran has called on Iranian authorities to immediately withdraw a sweeping “Countering Foreign Infiltration” bill that would criminalize routine contact with people and institutions abroad and expose journalists, academics, activists and ordinary citizens to lengthy prison sentences.

The Mission warned that the vaguely worded legislation would place virtually all interactions with the outside world—from journalism and academic cooperation to cultural, social and commercial activities—under government surveillance and approval, further restricting fundamental freedoms and isolating Iranians from the international community.

Read the full statement: https://iranhumanrights.org/2026/09/un-fact-finding-mission-urges-iran-to-withdraw-bill-criminalizing-contact-with-foreign-entities/

In recent weeks, authorities have arrested and imprisoned Baha’i citizens, raided homes and businesses, confiscated personal and professional property, interrogated people about their faith, and imposed lengthy prison and social restrictions.

These cases are part of a longstanding campaign of persecution against Iran’s Baha’i community, targeting not only their religious beliefs but also their livelihoods, families and basic rights.

Baha’is, Iran’s largest unrecognized religious minority, have faced decades of persecution under the Islamic Republic, enduring discriminatory laws, arbitrary arrests, and restrictions on practicing their faith, accessing education, and employment.
They are frequently targeted with fabricated national security charges to justify harassment, detention, and repression.

Earlier this year, CHRI published a report documenting the growing targeting of Baha’i citizens amid increased domestic repression across the country.

In a case involving 16 Iranian protesters arrested during the January 2026 nationwide protests, a Revolutionary Court has sentenced 10 to death and handed all 16 a combined 256 years in prison despite reports of torture and serious due process violations.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran previously reported on the alarming rise in group trials, in which protesters are prosecuted collectively rather than individually, denied meaningful access to independent legal counsel and case files, and subjected to torture and coercion to extract forced “confessions.”

Ten defendants, including two women, were sentenced to death and 11 years in prison each. Six others received prison terms ranging from 16 to 36 years from Branch 1 of the Esfahan Revolutionary Court. The combined prison sentences for all 16 defendants total 256 years, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

The case, known as the “Esfahan Shohada Square” case, stems from protests and clashes in and around Shohada Square in Esfahan in January. Two people died during the events, including a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a homeless man.

HRANA reports that the indictment does not contain a specific charge against any of the 16 defendants for killing either person. Instead, they were prosecuted on charges including “moharebeh,” “destruction of public property,” “assembly and collusion against national security,” and “propaganda against the regime.”

According to HRANA, prosecutors presented no evidence during the trial establishing that any of the defendants participated in the deaths.

The proceedings have also been marred by allegations of torture and restrictions on the defendants’ right to a fair defense.

Before the hearing, defense lawyers reportedly did not have access to a substantial portion of the case file and objected that they had been given insufficient time to review the documents and evidence.

During the hearing at Dastgerd Prison in Esfahan, Ahmadreza Saeedi told the court that he had been tortured during interrogation, adding that the investigator used an electric shock device on his neck and ge****ls.

The death sentence against Arghavan Fallahi, a 24-year-old Iranian political prisoner held in Evin Prison, was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.

Fallahi was sentenced to death in July 2026 by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on the alleged charge of "armed rebellion."

The sentence was handed down by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, a notorious judge widely known as the "Judge of Death" for his record of issuing death sentences against political prisoners and dissidents.

Fallahi was first arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in November 2022 alongside her father and brother. She was later sentenced to two years' imprisonment by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. After completing her sentence, she was released from Evin Prison.

She was arrested again in January 2025 and was reportedly subjected to severe physical and psychological torture aimed at forcing her to confess to alleged involvement in the assassinations of judges Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini.

🔸 Since the start of the war, Iranian authorities have significantly escalated domestic repression by fast-tracking political cases through the judiciary and imposing lengthy prison sentences and death penalties through politically motivated prosecutions without even the semblance of due process, targeting both recently detained individuals and political prisoners already behind bars.

🔸 Death sentences in Iran are routinely handed down following grossly unfair trials, with defendants frequently denied due process and convicted on the basis of forced "confessions" extracted under torture and coercion.

🔸 Vaguely defined and fabricated "national security" charges are being increasingly used to criminalize dissent and secure convictions that carry the death penalty.