Iran’s women-led protests of 2022 began with the death in custody of Mahsa Amini and developed into a nationwide challenge to the authorities. A new Amnesty International investigation says the state response was coordinated through formal orders and command structures, resulting in unlawful killings, torture and sexual violence that the organisation says should be investigated as crimes against humanity.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died in custody on September 16, 2022, after her arrest by the 'morality' police for allegedly failing to comply with the country’s hijab regulations. Amnesty said that, within 48 hours of her death, officials were seeking to control the public narrative and suppress protests online.
The organisation’s report, titled 'Architects of Atrocities: State Machinery Orchestrating Crimes Against Humanity in Iran's 2022 Woman Life Freedom Uprising', runs to more than 1,000 pages. It draws on leaked state records, interviews with 270 people and an examination of over 2,000 videos, alongside official statements, prosecution orders, court verdicts and forensic records.
Amnesty said it verified the deaths of 377 protesters and bystanders, including 56 children. Iranian authorities have officially acknowledged 202 deaths.
The report covers the crackdown from September to December 2022. Security forces used military-grade firearms and metal-pellet shotguns during lethal dispersals, according to Amnesty. Of 326 fatalities recorded during protest dispersals or in militarized areas, 178 occurred in the first two weeks of the crackdown.
One leaked order cited by the organisation instructed personnel to 'respond mercilessly and go as far as causing death'. Instructions issued by the General Staff of the Armed Forces on September 21, 2022, told security forces across the country to give demonstrations a 'firm and severe response'.
On 30 September 2022, security forces opened fire after Friday prayers in Zahedan, unlawfully killing 87 people, Amnesty said. The episode became known as 'Bloody Friday'.
The report identifies 87 officials whom Amnesty says should face criminal investigation for crimes against humanity under principles of superior responsibility. It says the officials included people in positions that enabled or directed the response through Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police command channels.
Ahmad Vahidi, who was minister of interior at the time, has since become general commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Amnesty said it provided Iran’s leadership with its findings and the list of officials it had identified before publication. The organisation said it received no response.
Amnesty also documented 16 people who were reportedly raped while arbitrarily detained in connection with the uprising. The group comprised six women, seven men, a 14-year-old girl and two boys aged 16 and 17.
According to the report, state agents subjected women and girls to vaginal, anal and oral penetration. Men and boys were subjected to anal penetration. The investigation describes the alleged abuses as part of wider torture and sexual violence against detainees, including minors.
Internal judicial communications examined by Amnesty indicate that prosecutors classified formal rape complaints against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps agents as 'completely secret'. The communications instructed staff to close files over time without referring to security agencies, the report said.
Amnesty’s findings set out an account of a state response that it says extended beyond individual misconduct by security personnel. Whether Iranian authorities will investigate any of the 87 officials, or respond publicly to the report’s findings, remains unknown.
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