As Iran marks the one-year anniversary of the nationwide Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) protests, Amnesty International has released a report accusing the Iranian authorities of committing numerous human rights violations against women and girls in the country.
The protests initially broke out in response to the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022. Over the past year, the Iranian government has used harsh measures to suppress dissent.
“The Iranian authorities have spent a year inflicting unspeakable cruelty on the people of Iran for courageously challenging decades of repression and inequality,” said Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
Hundreds of unlawful killings, arbitrary executions, tens of thousands of arbitrary arrests, widespread torture and harassment of victims’ families are among the human rights violations highlighted in Amnesty International’s report.
The UK-headquartered global human rights organisation has urged the international community to open criminal investigations under universal jurisdiction into the crimes committed by the Iranian authorities.
From September to December 2022, the security forces in Iran carried out a brutal crackdown that resulted in hundreds of unlawful killings, including dozens of children, with the Baluchi and Kurdish minorities being disproportionately affected. Detained protesters, including children, have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, leaving them with lasting physical and psychological trauma.
Tens of thousands have been arbitrarily detained, including demonstrators, human rights defenders, minority rights activists, journalists and lawyers. Iran’s use of the death penalty as a political tool is on the rise, with seven men executed after sham trials and dozens more at risk.
The Iranian authorities have been accused of attributing the deaths of protesters to various factors. The families of the victims have been subjected to relentless harassment and intimidation. As the anniversary of Amini’s death approached, Iran escalated its campaign of arbitrary arrests, including the detention of family members of those unlawfully killed. Thousands of university students were also coerced into pledging not to take part in the anniversary protests.
