Description

Nationwide protests in Iran were catalyzed by strike actions in Tehran bazaars beginning on 28 December 2025, triggered by the rapid devaluation of Iran’s currency and worsening economic conditions. Initial actions quickly expanded into mass street demonstrations. Protesters' demands broadened beyond economic grievances to explicit opposition to the Islamic Republic, including objections to long-standing repression and the denial of fundamental rights. HRA has confidentially documented protest slogans by geography and can provide them upon request for analysis.

By early January 2026, demonstrations had spread across every province and more than 200 cities, including public squares, streets, universities, and commercial districts. Iranian security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij forces, and plainclothes agents (namely after 7 Jan following Law Enforcement control), responded with a nationwide crackdown characterized by widespread violence, mass arrests, and coercive security measures.

Pattern of State Response
Security forces employed escalating force to suppress demonstrations, including lethal and less-lethal weapons, beatings, and mass arrests. HRANA documentation indicates that authorities adopted a militarized approach to crowd control, sharply increasing the risk of mass casualty events, fatal penetrating trauma, and permanent disability. This risk was further compounded by the obstruction and denial of medical care.

Use of Force and Weapons Deployed:
Lethal Weapons Documented (Not Comprehensive)
Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifles (AK-47/AKM, AK-74)
5.56×45 assault rifles (M4/AR-type platforms, G36, Iranian KH-2002/2003)
G3-family battle rifles (7.62×51 mm)
Sniper and designated marksman systems (SVD, Sayyad)
Handguns with live ammunition
Vehicle-mounted machine guns (PKM, DShK)
Crowd-Control Weapons Misused
12-gauge shotguns firing metallic pellets (birdshot) and so-called “less-lethal” munitions
38 mm tear gas launchers (CS gas), including direct-fire use
Paintball markers repurposed to cause serious injury

These weapons are designed for battlefield lethality. Their deployment in protest settings exceeds permissible law enforcement conduct and reflects militarized rules of engagement. Documented effects include fatal penetrating trauma, mass casualties, and permanent disabilities, particularly blindness.

Casualties, Arrests, and Detention
Killings and Injuries

Security force actions resulted in multiple deaths and widespread injuries. At the time of writing, more than 6,300 individuals had been confirmed killed, with over 17,000 cases under review by HRA.

Mass Arrests
Iranian authorities carried out widespread arrests throughout the protest period. As of 27 January, more than 40,000 individuals had been arbitrarily detained.

Obstruction of Medical Care:
Multiple reports indicate that injured protesters avoided hospitals due to fear of arrest or were denied treatment. In some cases, security forces were reportedly present at medical facilities, and arrests of wounded protesters were documented. These practices significantly increased the risk of death, complications, and long-term disability.

Forensic and Medical Findings:
Independent medical and forensic experts working alongside HRA reviewed and verified documentation and identified numerous matters of grave concern, including:

Extensive abdominal incisions on female corpses

Severe beatings, mutilation, and in some cases, beheading

Collective placement of multiple bodies in a single body bag

Severe burning of remains, rendering forensic examination impossible

Preliminary Legal Analysis: (Situation Ongoing)
Based on the verified scale of killings and injuries, the number of protesters arrested and detained, forced confessions already broadcast, nationwide geographic distribution, and the deliberate deployment of military-grade weapons against civilians, HRA assesses that the violent crackdown conducted by Iranian authorities against protesters likely meets the threshold of crimes against humanity as defined by Article 7 of the Rome Statute.

The number of acts of violence reported since the beginning of the protests, their occurrence across every province and more than 200 cities, and the consistent modus operandi of security forces demonstrate that the violence committed in the repression of protests and their aftermath constitutes a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population, carried out pursuant to or in furtherance of State policy.

Murder
The consistent use of live ammunition, sniper fire, birdshot, and heavy weapons demonstrates intent to kill or, at a minimum, knowledge that death would be the likely and foreseeable consequence. HRA has documented both targeted and indiscriminate shootings of civilians, including close-range fire and firing into crowds, practices incompatible with any lawful law enforcement framework. Given the alleged number of civilians killed during the 8–9 January weekend alone, these killings could amount to extermination.

Imprisonment and Persecution
Large-scale arbitrary detention and targeting of individuals on political grounds may constitute imprisonment and persecution as crimes against humanity.

Torture and Other Inhumane Acts
The pattern of beatings, denial of medical care, enforced disappearances, and severe physical and mental harm may constitute torture and other inhumane acts. Given the security forces’ established reliance on torture in suppressing protests in Iran, and despite the ongoing communications blackout, it is likely that televised confessions are coerced and obtained under physical and psychological abuse.

Other Inhumane Acts
Mutilation and desecration of bodies may constitute other inhumane acts causing great suffering, including harm inflicted on victims’ families and communities.

Categories

• Suppression of Protests
• Massacre
• Crimes Against Humanity

Violation Types

• Right to Life
• Freedom of Assembly and Association
• Prohibition of Torture or to Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Rights of the Child

Possible International Crimes

• Murder as a crime against humanity
• Extermination