Demonstrations were initially triggered by a sharp currency collapse and chronic failures in the provision of essential services, before rapidly spreading nationwide.
Global human rights body, the Amnesty International has accused Iranian authorities of carrying out “protest massacres,” condemning an unprecedented and deadly crackdown on largely peaceful demonstrations across the country.
In a statement issued on Friday, the global human rights organisation said security forces have used unlawful lethal force to suppress nationwide protests demanding the end of the Islamic Republic system, resulting in mass killings, severe injuries, and widespread human rights violations.
“Iranian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented, deadly crackdown to crush mostly peaceful protests demanding the fall of the Islamic Republic system,” the statement read.
“Security forces have used unlawful lethal force, leading to mass killings and horrific injuries. Since 8 January, authorities have cut all internet access to conceal their crimes.”
According to the Amnesty International, protests began on December 28, 2025, as public anger over decades of repression, worsening living conditions, and economic mismanagement boiled over.
Demonstrations were initially triggered by a sharp currency collapse and chronic failures in the provision of essential services, before rapidly spreading nationwide.
The protests, according to Amnesty International, started with shop closures and strikes in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and later evolved into mass street demonstrations across several cities, with protesters openly calling for fundamental political change and respect for human rights and human dignity.
Amnesty International said Iranian authorities responded with extreme force, particularly after January 8, when the government allegedly cut off nationwide internet access to conceal the scale of the violence.
“We have documented how security forces repeatedly and unlawfully fired rifles and shotguns loaded with metal pellets at unarmed protesters,” the organisation said.
“Medical facilities have been overwhelmed with the injured, while distraught families searched for their missing loved ones in overflowing morgues, hospitals, and even piles of bodies in warehouses and freight containers.”
The rights organisation further reported that families have been searching desperately for missing relatives in overcrowded hospitals, morgues, and other facilities, including warehouses and freight containers allegedly used to store bodies.
Amid mass arrests, Amnesty International warned that detained protesters and other dissidents face a high risk of torture, other forms of ill-treatment, and possible execution.
The organisation cited orders by Iran’s head of the judiciary instructing authorities to show “no leniency” toward those challenging the Islamic Republic system.
“Amid sweeping arrests, detained protesters and other dissidents are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment, as well as the death penalty, given orders by the head of the judiciary to show 'no leniency' against those who dare to stand up against the Islamic Republic system,” the statement added.
Amnesty International also expressed concern that the sweeping internet shutdown has plunged the country into what it called “digital darkness,” preventing the flow of information and hindering efforts to document abuses.
The organisation called on the international community to take urgent diplomatic action to halt further bloodshed and address what it described as systemic impunity fueling the violence.
The organisation urged United Nations member states to convene special sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to deter further killings and pursue international accountability measures.
It also called for steps toward international criminal justice, including referring Iran to the International Criminal Court.
“Call on the international community to urgently act to end further massacres of protesters in Iran,” Amnesty International stated.
“UN member states must take urgent diplomatic action to protect protesters from further massacres and confront the systemic impunity that is driving the bloodshed,” it warned.
“This includes convening special sessions at the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to deter further massacres and pursue international criminal justice, including referring Iran to the International Criminal Court.”