Amnesty International: Iran Committed Crimes Against Humanity Crushing 2022 Protests, Warns 2026 Crackdown Is Worse

Amnesty International released a nearly 1,000-page report concluding that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity — including murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearance — in crushing the 2022 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests that followed Mahsa Amini's death. The report identifies 377 protesters and bystanders killed, including 56 children, and names 87 national and regional officials in the chain of command it holds responsible. Amnesty said the state's suppression of new 2025–2026 protests bears the 'same hallmarks' as 2022 but on 'an even deadlier and more staggering scale.' Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: 'The extensive evidence gathered and analyzed in our report leaves no doubt: Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity to crush the 2022 Woman Life Freedom uprising.' Amnesty urged the UN General Assembly to create an international criminal justice mechanism to prosecute those most responsible.