GENEVA (20 February 2026) – UN human rights experts*
today urged Iranian authorities to fully disclose the fate
and whereabouts of individuals detained, forcibly
disappeared or missing in the aftermath of the nationwide
protests, and to halt all death sentences and executions
related to the demonstrations.
“The true scale of
the violent crackdown on Iranian protesters remains
impossible to determine at this point,” the experts said.
“The discrepancy between official figures and grassroots
estimates only deepens the anguish of families searching for
their loved ones and displays a profound disregard for human
rights and accountability.”
Iranian authorities have
acknowledged 3,117 deaths and approximately 3,000 arrests,
whereas human rights organisations estimate these figures to
be in the tens of thousands. The vast majority of those
detained or killed are ordinary people, including children,
from all provinces and diverse ethnic and religious
backgrounds, as well as Afghan nationals, of which there are
some 5 million living in Iran. They include lawyers who
sought to represent protesters, medical professionals who
treated the wounded, journalists, and writers, artists and
human rights defenders who supported the
protests.
Families across Iran remain unable to locate
their relatives, whether they are among the injured in
hospitals, held in detention facilities or among fatalities
in forensic institutes. Many families of known detainees
report being denied regular contact, heightening concerns
for the safety of their loved ones.
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“The prohibition
of enforced disappearance and torture, and the protection of
the right to life, are fundamental norms of international
law which cannot be derogated in any circumstance including
public emergency or political instability,” the experts
said.
They warned that, in the absence of
transparency, a devastating narrative starts to take shape,
with unverified reports of burial sites and secret
executions emerging.
“When a State refuses to
account for the whereabouts of its people, others will fill
that void — and the picture that emerges will define this
period in Iran’s history,” the experts said. “The
people of Iran have a right to know what is happening in
their own country. Without answers, we will assume the
worst.”
Furthermore, the internet restrictions, now
in their sixth week, continue to obstruct verification of
conditions on the ground. Full connectivity is reserved for
State-approved users. For the wider population, access is
severely restricted, frequently dependent on expensive and
difficult-to-obtain VPN services, leaving many cut off from
reliable connectivity. Furthermore, security forces have
been reportedly conducting street checks, during which
individuals are stopped and their mobile phones searched for
protest-related content, including social media activity,
photographs and videos.
The experts noted that, within
this void, State media have continued to broadcast what are
widely regarded as forced confessions, and expressed concern
about the labelling of protesters as “terrorists” in the
legitimate exercise of their fundamental
rights.
Moreover, in recent weeks, Baha’is have
reportedly faced increased incitement and detention. Many
detainees have allegedly been denied access to lawyers of
their choosing, with reports of legal representatives,
including State-approved counsel, prevented from meeting
their clients. Against this backdrop, there have been some
reports of protesters receiving severe sentences, including
the death penalty. Serious concerns have also been raised
regarding the treatment of detainees, including the
heightened risks of gender-based violence in such
context.
The experts called on Iranian authorities to
immediately take the following actions: halt all executions
and death sentences, including those linked to the protests;
disclose the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons;
release all those arbitrarily detained during and after the
protests, and guarantee their due process rights; restore
full telecommunications access; and ensure independent,
impartial, thorough and effective investigations and
accountability for the human rights violations and provide
unimpeded access to international human rights
monitors.
The experts remain in contact with Iranian
authorities on these issues.
*The
experts:
- Mai
Sato, the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran - Cecilia M.
Bailliet, Independent
Expert on human rights and international
solidarity - Alexandra
Xanthaki, Special
Rapporteur in the field of cultural
rights - Morris
Tidball-Binz, Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions - Margaret
Satterthwaite, Special
Rapporteur on the independence of judges and
lawyers - Mary Lawlor,
Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders - Gabriella Citroni
(Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua
Baldé; and Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez,
the Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances - Nazila
Ghanea, Special
Rapporteur on freedom of religion or
belief - Claudia Flores (Chair),
Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu,
and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working
Group on discrimination against women and
girls - Ms. Ganna Yudkivska
(Chair-Rapporteur), Mr. Matthew Gillett (Vice-Chair on
Communications), Ms. Miriam Estrada Castillo (Vice-Chair on
Follow-Up), Mr. Mumba Malila, and Mr. Ethan Hee-Seok
Shin, Working
Group on Arbitrary
Detention - Nicolas
Levrat, Special
Rapporteur on minority
issues - Margaret
Satterthwaite, Special
Rapporteur on the independence of judges and
lawyers - Tlaleng
Mofokeng, the
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health - Ana Brian Nougrères,
the
Special Rapporteur on the right to
privacy - Gina Romero,
the
Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of
association - Richard
Bennett, the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Afghanistan - Ben Saul,
Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism - Alice
Edwards,
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or
punishment
