Mass protests in Iran that began in late December 2025 have been met with disproportionate and lethal force, mass arbitrary arrests, and a near-total internet blackout imposed by the authorities. Independent monitoring and rights groups report possible 22,000 people feared dead and more than 40,000 detained during the nationwide movement, with tens of thousands more deaths under investigation and many more individuals severely injured or missing. ARTICLE 19 calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals detained for exercising their human rights and the full, unrestricted restoration of access to the internet and communications systems across Iran.
The Iranian government has maintained a comprehensive internet shutdown since 8 January 2026, cutting off access to global communications, and severely limiting the flow of information. This blackout has been widely documented, with connectivity in most parts of the country reduced to near-zero for almost three weeks. In many areas, even basic digital communication remains blocked, hindering people’s ability to contact family, access vital services, or share independent accounts of events. This systemic shutdown functions to conceal authorities’ excessive use of force and obstruct documentation of killings, arrests, and other serious violations that likely amount to crimes against humanity. While limited, heavily filtered connectivity has recently re-emerged in some areas, allowing people to contact loved ones, and share and access information, albeit slowly and briefly.
Despite efforts to suppress information, photographs, videos, and testimonies from individuals who participated in the protests or witnessed the brutality of the government’s response have made their way to international media. Harrowing accounts depict extensive use of live ammunition, severe wounds to vital organs, mass arrests, and reports of unmarked burials, underscoring the gravity of the authorities’ response.
ARTICLE 19 reiterates that the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and access to information are fundamental and protected under international law. The use of internet shutdowns to suppress dissent, conceal evidence of state violence, and isolate civil society constitutes a further violation of these rights.
The global community must pressure Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release of all individuals detained for exercising their human rights and to ensure the full, unrestricted restoration of access to the internet and communications systems across Iran.