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More than 50,000 people have been arrested in Iran in connection with the wave of anti-government protests, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) announced today, emphasizing that state repression in the country continues unabated.
According to HRANA, which had previously reported over 42,000 arrests, the number of detainees has been revised upwards to at least 50,235 people, arrested since the outbreak of protests in late December and their peak on January 8 and 9. The demonstrations were violently suppressed by Iranian authorities in early January.
Authorities in Tehran have acknowledged that thousands of people have died during the unrest, but claim that most of the victims were members of the security forces or bystanders, killed by groups they describe as "terrorists", linked to the United States and Israel.
HRANA reports that the arrests have targeted “a wide range of citizens,” mainly students, writers, and teachers. According to the organization, in some cases the detentions have been accompanied by searches of homes and the confiscation of personal belongings.
Over 300 cases of so-called "forced confessions" have also been documented, broadcast on Iranian state television. Amnesty International has also raised the alarm about the arrest of thousands of people, including children.
According to human rights organizations, those arrested face "serious risk of enforced disappearances, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, death in custody, and arbitrary executions after trials that fail to meet minimum standards of fairness."
In this climate, the head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, warned today that there will be "zero tolerance" towards those involved in the protests. The prosecution has clarified that some of those arrested face severe penalties, which in some cases could reach the death penalty.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Iranian director Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-screenwriter of the film "A Simple Accident", winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, was also arrested. According to the Iranian Fars agency, he was detained along with student leader Abdollah Momeni and journalist and women's rights activist Vida Rabbani, on suspicion of having helped draft a statement critical of the government.
The statement, signed by over a dozen dissidents, describes state repression as a "crime against humanity," according to the foundation of Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Narges Mohammadi, who has been in prison since December.
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