Amnesty International on Wednesday called for those responsible for Iran’s crackdown on the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests to face international justice, warning that impunity risks enabling further violent repression. The call coincides with the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, which sparked the widespread demonstrations.

Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in custody on September 16, 2022, after being detained by Tehran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Her death prompted protests across Iran demanding greater political freedoms and human rights. The United Nations previously reported that Amini suffered physical violence while in custody, which contributed to her passing.

In a comprehensive report exceeding 1,000 pages, Amnesty documented how Iranian authorities employed systematic and coordinated violence to suppress the protests, amounting to crimes against humanity. The abuses include murder, torture, enforced disappearance, imprisonment, rape, and persecution on political, gender, ethnic, and religious grounds.

Amnesty recorded 377 deaths among protesters and bystanders, including 56 children, during dispersals between September and December 2022. This figure contrasts with the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran’s report, which noted 551 deaths, including 49 women and 68 children. Iran acknowledged 202 deaths, attributing most to actions by “rioters” or “armed terrorists,” a characterization Amnesty described as part of a pattern of denial and cover-ups.

The report identifies 87 officials implicated in orchestrating the crackdown, several of whom have been targeted in lethal strikes by Israel and the United States, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and former Chief of the General Staff Mohammad Bagheri. However, prominent figures such as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Ahmad Vahidi and Deputy Interior Minister for Security Majid Mir-Ahmadi remain in office.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, emphasized the hierarchical nature of the repression, with street-level security forces operating under directives from high-ranking officials. Callamard urged the establishment of an international criminal justice mechanism, warning that many implicated figures continue to hold power and could instigate future violence.

The NGO’s findings are based on interviews with approximately 270 individuals—including protesters, detainees, relatives, lawyers, medical workers, and human rights defenders—alongside analysis of over 2,000 videos and extensive documentary evidence comprising official statements, leaks, court documents, and forensic records. Amnesty reported that Iranian authorities did not respond to its attempts to share findings with senior officials.

The IRGC and the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA) were identified as the primary security forces leading lethal protest dispersals, often targeting protesters with military-grade weapons. Amnesty documented numerous incidents where fleeing protesters and bystanders were shot at close range despite posing no apparent threat.

The report highlights disproportionate impacts on ethnic Baluchi and Kurdish communities, who suffered 62% of the documented fatalities while representing a smaller share of Iran’s population. Specifically, 106 Baluchi, including 20 children, were killed in Sistan and Baluchistan province, and 95 Kurdish victims, including 13 children, died across Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan provinces.

Callamard stated that the evidence “leaves no doubt” that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity in a bid to extinguish demands for dignity and political change. She called attention to legal and institutional structures within Iran that sustain impunity, enabling repeated brutal crackdowns. The Amnesty report also referenced the mass protests and killings of January 2026 as part of ongoing cycles of repression.

While condemning the lethal attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran, Callamard underscored that Iranian civilians continue to bear the primary cost of oppressive state actions. She urged the United Nations General Assembly to take steps to end the normalization of mass protest killings in Iran by creating a dedicated international criminal accountability mechanism.