UN Says Iran’s Crimes Against Humanity Demand Expanded Investigation

Fact-Finding Mission Cites Widescale Murder, Imprisonment, Torture and Rape

UN: Systematic Abuses Continue, Accountability Outside Iran Should be Pursued

March 14, 2025 – In a new report based on a two-year investigation, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI) states that two and a half years after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests began in September 2022, the Government of Iran continues to violently abuse the rights of women and girls and others demanding human rights as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent. It reaffirmed that the Iranian government committed gross human rights violations, many of which amount to crimes against humanity, during and after the protests.

Strengthening its evidence base, the FFMI’s latest findings confirm murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and persecution as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians, particularly targeting women, girls, ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights advocates. 

The 38,000 pieces of evidence collected include testimonies from 281 victims and witnesses detailing the use of excessive force, systematic torture, and state-sponsored impunity in response to the protests that erupted in September 2022 after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.  The FFMI collected new evidence of at least six cases of extra-judicial executions of protesters, which Iranian authorities later dismissed as “suicides.”

The FFMI noted that Iran has not only failed to address past crimes but continues to engage in systematic human rights abuses. For this reason, the Mission recommended that the Human Rights Council establish an independent investigative body with a broader mandate after the expiration of the current FFMI, in order to continue monitoring and documenting human rights violations in Iran.

The report also noted that the Islamic Republic has denied responsibility for gross human rights violations, its judicial system lacks basic independence, and victims and families seeking accountability are not only denied justice, but are also continuously intimidated, threatened, arrested, and subjected to criminal prosecution. As a result, it states that “It is therefore imperative that comprehensive accountability measures also continue to be pursued outside the country.”

Continuous Persecution of Women and Girls

The FFMI found that Iranian authorities have intensified repression against women and girls, particularly those defying the mandatory hijab, and have deliberately sought to eradicate independent women’s rights initiatives since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Since April 2024, Iranian authorities have escalated their enforcement of mandatory hijab laws, and the FFMI found that at least 618 women were arrested for noncompliance in 2024 alone. The FFMI found that although the draconian new “Hijab and Chastity” Law has not yet been fully enforced, measures to implement it have already begun.

The report details how the government has mobilized security forces, police, and even private citizens to enforce dress codes through intimidation and violence. Women have been subjected to arbitrary arrests, torture, and even public lashings. High-profile cases include singer Mehdi Yarrahi and activist Roshnak Alishah, who were flogged for opposing or criticizing the mandatory hijab.

Escalation of the Death Penalty

Since the protests began, Iran has significantly increased its use of the death penalty, executing at least 938 to 973 people in 2024 alone. The FFMI report highlights a direct correlation between executions and political repression, with protesters, ethnic minorities, and women activists disproportionately sentenced to death.

The FFMI said that the Iranian government executed at least 10 protesters in connection with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, after trials marred by gross human rights violations, including the use of torture-tainted confessions and denial of legal representation. At least 11 men and three women remain at imminent risk of being sentenced to death or executed, including women activists Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, and Varisheh Moradi.

“The use of the death penalty against women activists and women human rights defenders also escalated, particularly following their convictions for national security offenses, including in relation to their activism. This disturbing development, noticeable in the aftermath of the protests, is indicative of growing retaliatory tactics against women for their unabated defiance against Iran’s discriminatory laws and policies,” the report said.

Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, and Rape in Detention

The FFMI has found that security forces employed brutal interrogation tactics, including beatings, electric shocks, and mock executions. Women and children individuals have been particularly targeted, with some subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence in detention facilities.

The FFMI reported: “A woman was arrested at a protest site in 2023, beaten severely, including with chains, subjected to two mock executions, raped in the custody of the Agahi, and gang-raped by plainclothes agents in an undisclosed location. Security officers, moreover, perpetrated sexual violence against a woman protester immediately after they shot and injured her at a protest site. The victim described that she was assaulted after a plainclothes agent shot, at close range, over 200 metal pellets into her body and genitalia.”

Targeting of Ethnic and Religious Minorities

The FFMI found that security forces used excessive military force in Kurdish, Baluchi, and Azerbaijani Turk regions, deploying military-grade weapons and engaging in extrajudicial killings.

One of the most devastating incidents investigated is the “Bloody Friday” massacre in Zahedan (September 30, 2022), where security forces killed at least 103 people during protests. Despite government claims of accountability, the report found that investigations were flawed, and victims’ families faced intimidation and coercion.

“To extract confessions, minorities were subjected to particularly egregious forms of torture, including waterboarding, sexual violence, being suspended from the ceiling by their arms, forcibly administered unknown substances, and solitary confinement for up to 18 days. In Sistan and Baluchestan, IRGC officials forced detainees to clean the cells with their bare hands and prevented victims from sleeping at night,” the report found.

Systematic Persecution of Children

The report found that children as young as seven were beaten, detained in unofficial sites, and subjected to psychological torture. Several high-profile cases, including the deaths of Nika Shakarami and Sarina Esmaeilzadeh, were dismissed as “suicides” despite evidence pointing to state involvement.

“With students, girls and boys, long at the forefront of protest movements in Iran, State authorities resorted to particularly violent measures to punish children and young people for their pivotal role in the September 2022 protests. These included the use of lethal force that resulted in killings and maiming of children, mass arrests and detention, as well as disappearance, torture and sexual violence against child victims, some as young as seven, the report found.”

Digital Censorship and Transnational Repression

The report found that Iranian authorities have expanded digital surveillance, forcing citizens to use state-monitored applications while systematically banning VPNs. Activists and journalists living abroad have been targeted through cyber threats and, in some cases, assassination attempts. At least 15 Iranian journalists abroad have faced kidnapping or murder attempts since 2022.

“Even those who have fled Iran and engage in activism from abroad remain vulnerable to threats, intimidation, and harassment online and offline, as State authorities have extended their repression beyond the borders of Iran,” the report found.

FFMI’s Key Recommendations

The FFMI concludes that Iran has not only failed to address past crimes but continues to engage in systematic human rights abuses. 

The Mission recommends that the Human Rights Council establish an independent investigative body with a broader mandate after the expiration of the current FFMI to continue monitoring and documenting human rights violations in Iran. This body should:

• Investigate both past and ongoing crimes against humanity, including structural discrimination against women, minorities, and political dissidents.
• Focus on violations of free expression, assembly, and association, particularly targeting human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, and activists.
• Ensure domestic and international accountability by collecting and preserving evidence for legal proceedings against perpetrators.
• Cooperate with international judicial bodies and UN human rights mechanisms to support victims and pursue justice.

Read the FFMI’s full report here and graphics here.

Read the FFMI’s press release here.