At the same time, unverified reports indicate that at least several hundred people, and according to some estimates more than 6,000, may have been killed. Due to the internet blackout since 8 January and severe restrictions on access to information, it is extremely difficult to independently verify these reports. The number of people arrested in the recent protests is estimated to exceed 10,000.
Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Republic have described protesters as rioters, mohareb (enemies of God), terrorists and agitators, linking them to Israel and the US, offences that are punishable by death. They have also vowed to deal with the cases “severely” and swiftly” in special branches of the Revolutionary Courts.
Unverified reports suggest that at least one protester is at risk of execution only days after arrest. Sources close to the family of Erfan Soltani, 26, who was arrested on 8 January in Fardis, Karaj, told IHRNGO that “his family were told that he had been sentenced to death and that the sentence is due to be carried out on 14 January.”
Iran Human Rights expresses deep concern about the escalation and continuation of the killing of protesters, and the risk of mass executions of protesters and calls for an immediate response from the international community.
IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated: “The widespread killing of civilian protesters in recent days by the Islamic Republic is reminiscent of the regime’s crimes in the 1980s, which have been recognised as crimes against humanity. The risk of mass and extrajudicial executions of protesters is extremely serious. Under the Responsibility to Protect, the international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killings by the Islamic Republic and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We call on people and civil society in democratic countries to remind their governments of this responsibility.”
The new round of protests, which began on 28 December 2025 in Tehran’s bazaar over poor economic conditions, quickly spread to other parts of Iran, accompanied by anti-government slogans. Until the internet blackout, protests had spread to all 31 provinces and around 120 cities.
In a video released from Kahrizak morgue in southern Tehran, the bodies of 250 protesters can be seen. According to a doctor who spoke to Time magazine anonymously, they saw 217 bodies in six hospitals in Tehran (there are reported to be over 100 hospitals in the city). Other sources have reported high numbers of deaths in several cities, including Isfahan, Mashhad, Rasht, Karaj and Shiraz. IHRNGO has also received reports of fatalities in other cities which it is working to verify.
State media have reported that at least 121 members of the Islamic Republic’s military, police and judicial forces have been killed in the recent protests, stating that this figure does not include Tehran.
State forces have used military weapons against protesters, and in some cases have fired at protesters’ heads and upper bodies from close range. Mass arrests have also been reported in a number of cities. The number of detainees is estimated to have exceeded 10,000.
From 22:00 on 8 January, the internet was shut down across Iran. According to NetBlocks, 99% of Iran’s internet has been under blackout since. The last time Iran experienced a comparable nationwide internet blackout was in November 2019, when hundreds of protesters were killed over the course of several days, and according to some reports up to 1,500 people were killed by state forces. During the current shutdown, only a limited number of citizens have been able to access the internet via Starlink. Reports have also emerged of jamming affecting Starlink receivers.
The Islamic Republic is seeking to conduct rapid trials without observing fair trial standards for detained protesters.
In response to the protests, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, described protesters as “vandals” and “rioters” and said the Islamic Republic would not back down.
Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic, also described protesters as “terrorists” and called on government supporters to gather in neighbourhoods and prevent anti-government demonstrations.
Erfan Soltani, 26, arrested on 8 January in Fardis, Karaj, is reportedly facing the death penalty. According to sources close to his family, on 12 January, “his family were informed that he had been sentenced to death and that the sentence is due to be carried out on 14 January.”
Erfan did not have access to a lawyer and as far as they are aware, no trial was conducted to hear his case, per the source. It is not clear what the charges against the protester are.
While Islamic Republic authorities have vowed to deal swiftly with cases, they also have a history of misleading families about death sentences as a means of exerting pressure.
In the case of Abbas Deris, a November 2019 protester, authorities told his family that he had been convicted of murder in order to force him to seek forgiveness from the victim’s family, which would have amounted to an admission of guilt.
The nationwide internet shutdown, together with repeated threats by Islamic Republic officials, has increased fears of the mass killing of protesters and the issuing of large numbers of death sentences.
Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, January 12, 2026
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
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