In her report A/HRC/61/59, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran Mai Sato describes the human rights crisis surrounding the nationwide protests that began on 28 December 2025 as a “watershed moment”, while emphasizing that the abuses reflect patterns of repression developed over decades.
The report documents lethal force against protesters, mass arrests, enforced disappearances, attacks on medical professionals and wounded protesters, internet shutdowns, and the use of the death penalty to suppress dissent. Sato states that the State response involved “thousands killed” and “tens of thousands detained,” with families still searching for missing relatives.
Key findings
- At least 1,639 people were executed in 2025, compared with 975 in 2024. Only 7 percent of executions were officially announced.
- 49 percent of those executed in 2025 were convicted of drug-related offences, while serious due-process concerns—including allegations of torture and forced confessions—were repeatedly reported.
- At least 30 people were reportedly sentenced to death following the nationwide protests, including two 17-year-olds.
- The Special Rapporteur warns that capital punishment has been “operationalized as a tool of political repression”, creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression, assembly and association.
- She describes the targeting of medical professionals and wounded people in hospitals as systematic, saying that “the act of saving life has become criminalized.”
- The report also highlights the disproportionate impact of executions and discrimination on Baloch, Kurdish and Arab communities, as well as foreign nationals.
A/HRC/61/59: Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2025 and the nationwide protests – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (advance edited version)
Summary
In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 58/21, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mai Sato, examines the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the human rights impact of the nationwide protests that began on 28 December 2025.
