Marking six months since the crackdown on the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests, Amnesty International pointed to the lack of prospects for achieving justice within Iran, calling for the urgent pursuit of victims’ cases through international criminal justice mechanisms and an end to systemic impunity.
Iran human rights Society, Wednesday, July 8, 2026 – Amnesty International issued a statement on the six-month anniversary of the crackdown on the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests, declaring that given the impossibility of achieving justice inside Iran, the international community must prioritize pursuing the victims’ cases through international criminal justice mechanisms. The organization also called on UN member states to take immediate and practical measures to end impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations.
Amnesty International Calls for International Action on Victims’ Cases
On Wednesday, July 8, 2026, coinciding with the six-month anniversary of the crackdown on the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests, Amnesty International stated that the complete lack of any outlook for achieving justice in Iran has doubled the urgency of pursuing victims’ cases via international channels.
The statement emphasized that international criminal justice routes must be pursued as an “urgent and non-negotiable priority” because, according to the organization, Iran’s structural crisis of impunity prevents any effective investigation into human rights violations.
Amnesty International Criticizes International Inaction
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, criticized what she termed the “inaction of the international community” regarding the crackdown on the nationwide protests.
She stated that six months after the killing of thousands of women, men, and children during the crackdown, the global community has yet to take effective action toward international justice. According to Eltahawy, this ongoing deadlock perpetuates the cycle of repression, deprives victims’ families of justice, and paves the way for similar atrocities to be repeated.
Warning Against Overlooking Human Rights in Political Negotiations
Amnesty International further warned in its statement that diplomatic efforts to reach agreements between Iran and the United States must not sideline the human rights situation.
The organization stressed that any political agreement failing to address accountability for human rights abusers cannot lay the groundwork for a lasting peace. Diana Eltahawy also noted that Islamic Republic officials have so far paid no price for using lethal force against protesters, and this very impunity increases the probability of recurring violent crackdowns.
Demand for Practical UN Action
Amnesty International urged United Nations member states to place the human rights crisis in Iran at the top of their agendas.
The organization called for supporting the creation of an independent international mechanism to investigate human rights violations in Iran and requested the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The organization believes that only through independent investigations and holding human rights violators accountable can the cycle of impunity be broken.
Concerns Over Escalating Repression After the Nationwide Protests
In another part of its statement, Amnesty International noted that the crackdown on the nationwide protests was not confined to the period when protesters were out on the streets.
According to the organization, the end of the street protests has been followed by mass arrests, enforced disappearances, intense pressure on the families of the deceased, restrictions on gatherings, heavy prison sentences, and executions of protesters and dissidents. These actions, the organization believes, are aimed at silencing any voice of dissent and preventing a recurrence of nationwide unrest.
Warning Over a Surge in Executions
Amnesty International also stated that following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, Islamic Republic authorities have expanded the scope of repression by citing “wartime conditions.”
According to the statement, at least 44 individuals have been executed in politically motivated cases, and numerous others remain at risk of execution. The organization emphasized that the rising rate of issuing and carrying out death sentences has created severe concerns regarding the human rights situation in Iran.
How Did the 2025–2026 Nationwide Protests Begin?
The nationwide protests began on December 28, 2025, triggered by the collapse of the Rial, surging inflation, a severe livelihood crisis, and widespread public discontent, rapidly spreading to various cities within a short period.
In addition to economic demands, protesters called for freedom, human dignity, democracy, and fundamental political changes. According to published reports, security forces deployed lethal force to counter these nationwide protests, while widespread internet blackouts were simultaneously implemented.
Varying statistics have been published regarding the death toll:
- Iran’s Supreme National Security Council reported the number of fatalities as 3,117.
- Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, stated the number of victims exceeded 5,000.
UN Special Rapporteur Stresses Need for Accountability
Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, had previously warned that the human rights situation in Iran was already critical prior to the conflict, and the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests have only deepened this crisis.
She emphasized that any political deal or understanding that ignores human rights and the accountability of violators carries the grave risk of returning to past conditions or worsening the situation even further.
Amnesty International’s latest statement underscores once again the vital necessity of ending impunity and internationally investigating the cases of victims from the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests. The organization firmly believes that as long as human rights abusers face no accountability and independent international mechanisms are not activated to address these cases, the danger of recurring crackdowns, executions, and widespread human rights violations will remain standing.
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