Targeted Crackdown on Human Rights Defenders in 2022 Iran Nationwide Protests

This report documents the targeted and systematic crackdown of human rights defenders and their rights violations in Iran. In contrast to previous years’ reports which covered a one-year period, this year, Iran Human Rights’ Human Rights Defenders report is limited to 18 September- 30 November 2022. This decision was made due to the bloody suppression of protests by the Islamic Republic.

Nationwide protests broke out across Iran following the state-murder of Jina (Mahsa) Amini, a 23-year-old Kurdish girl in police custody. The people expressed their will through the slogan, “Woman, Life, Liberty,” which encompasses the most basic human rights; rights they have been deprived of for decades in Iran.

All Iranians who took to the streets to demand their basic human rights are human rights defenders according to the United Nations definition. However, it was impossible to include hundreds of thousands of protesters, especially the thousands arrested and killed. This report therefore, focuses on human rights defenders such as lawyers, journalists, families seeking justice, civil activists, teachers, workers’ rights activists , women’s rights activists, artists and environmental activists. However, as this is not a complete list of all human rights defenders arrested in those categories, it cannot be considered a statistical report. Rather, Iran Human Rights has tried to open a small window to acquaint the international community with Iranian human rights defenders and the targeted crackdown against them by the Islamic Republic. Their current status has been updated according to the available information and to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. It is important to note that the majority of those released have been so on bail pending legal action.

Link to the Report (pdf)