Iran
The International Bar Association (IBA) strongly condemns Iran for serious and repeated breaches of its binding obligations under international law, following an intensifying state crackdown on nationwide protests. The suppression has reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths, thousands of arrests, and a near-total shutdown of internet and telecommunications services, thereby becoming the most significant unrest in years. The demonstrations, initially triggered in December 2025 by the devaluation of the Iranian rial and soaring costs for essential items like food and fuel, have expanded into sustained protests across cities and towns in all 31 provinces against political repression, corruption, and systemic failures of governance.
IBA President Claudio Visco stated: ‘The reported use of lethal force against unarmed demonstrators is not a matter of internal security discretion – it is a clear violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is legally bound.’ The IBA highlights that the killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop and the labeling of protesters as ‘terrorists’ to justify violence against them is unacceptable.
At a UN Human Rights Council session on the protests, Iran’s ambassador, Ali Bahreini, rejected the proceedings as politically motivated, accusing sponsors of ignoring the impact of Western sanctions on Iranians and of supporting Israel’s strikes in June 2025 that killed civilians. Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the IBA, emphasized that Iran’s crackdown has broken international laws and treaties protecting life, freedom, fair trials, free speech, children’s rights, and access to healthcare. He stated: ‘These operations have involved egregious tactics, including the use of live ammunition and other lethal weapons against demonstrators. There have been mass arrests, detention without prompt charge or judicial review, denial of access to lawyers and family members, and interrogations under coercive conditions.’
