16 September 2026
Amnesty International has called for urgent international action to hold Iranian officials accountable for crimes against humanity committed during the violent suppression of nationwide protests, warning that continuing impunity risks enabling further massacres.
In a major new report released on the fourth anniversary of the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, Amnesty International says Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack against protesters and other civilians. The organisation concludes that murder, torture, enforced disappearance, imprisonment, rape and persecution on political, gender, ethnic and religious grounds amounted to crimes against humanity.
The investigation, contained in a report exceeding 1,000 pages, examines the state structures and chains of command behind the repression. Amnesty identifies 87 Iranian officials whom it says should be criminally investigated for crimes against humanity. They include 62 security-force commanders and 25 Interior Ministry officials at national, provincial and local levels.
According to Amnesty, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran played central roles in suppressing the demonstrations. Security forces repeatedly used assault rifles, handguns and shotguns loaded with metal pellets against protesters and bystanders. Amnesty says evidence including official statements and leaked documents demonstrates that these operations formed part of a coordinated state policy.
The human cost was devastating. Amnesty separately documented the deaths of 377 protesters and bystanders, including 56 children, during the 2022 uprising. Kurdish and Baluchi communities were particularly affected, together accounting for 62% of the recorded victims. Amnesty concludes that murder and torture against protesters from these communities were committed with discriminatory intent on political and ethnic grounds.
The findings are based on extensive research, including interviews with 270 people—among them protesters, former detainees, victims’ relatives, lawyers, journalists, medical workers and human-rights defenders. Researchers also analysed more than 2,000 videos, official documents, court decisions, forensic records and other evidence. Amnesty says it contacted Iran’s Supreme Leader and senior security officials regarding its findings and the 87 officials identified, but had received no response by publication.
Amnesty warns that the absence of accountability has contributed to repeated cycles of repression, including further mass killings during protests in January 2026. It argues that domestic mechanisms cannot provide effective accountability because Iran’s judicial and security structures themselves are implicated in serious human-rights violations.
The organisation is therefore urging the UN General Assembly to establish an international criminal justice mechanism for Iran. It also calls on states to pursue investigations under universal or other forms of extraterritorial jurisdiction and, where sufficient evidence exists, issue arrest warrants against suspected perpetrators. Amnesty additionally urges states to seek referral of the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court through the UN Security Council.
The report delivers a stark message: without credible accountability for past atrocities, civilians in Iran remain vulnerable to renewed repression. International justice, Amnesty argues, is therefore not only about addressing crimes already committed, but also about preventing their recurrence.