UN accuses Iran of widespread arrests, abuses after 12-day conflict with Israel

[ad_1] United Nations reality finders on Thursday denounced Iran's intensification of oppression for the reason that nation's 12-day conflict with Israel in June, with greater than 21,000 arrests and mistreatment of minorities and journalists.

"Since March of this yr, we've documented additional deterioration of the human rights state of affairs in Iran," mentioned Sara Hossain, who heads the Impartial Worldwide Truth Discovering Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a physique established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022.

"Airstrikes by Israel on Iranian territory and a subsequent home crackdown by the Iranian authorities additional constricted civic area, undermined due course of, and eroded respect for the correct to life."

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Of the 21,000 folks arrested by Iranian authorities through the 12-day conflict, Hossain mentioned the Islamic Republic focused a broad swath of Iran's civil society, together with "legal professionals, human rights defenders, journalists, and even social media customers who merely printed content material referring to the hostilities."

Iran has additionally ramped up executions, with greater than 1,200 so far in 2025 -- already exceeding the 2024 complete, which was the very best recorded determine in Iran since 2015.

"There are sturdy indications that the Authorities of Iran continues to systematically implement the dying penalty in ways in which contravene worldwide human rights regulation," Hossain mentioned.

The investigation additionally discovered that the Islamic Republic's repression of ethnic and spiritual minorities has "intensified" with "over 330 Kurds and enormous numbers of Arabs" arrested and "a whole lot of 1000's of Afghans" deported, Hossain mentioned.

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Iran has accused members of the Baha'i religion of being "Zionist spies," focusing on them in home raids and confiscating their property, Hossain mentioned.

The probe additionally discovered Iran's authorities repeatedly deactivates journalists' SIM playing cards, and repression of the press is "not confined to Iran's borders," she added.

"We now have acquired data indicating that over 45 journalists face credible threats in seven nations for reporting on occasions in Iran," Hossain mentioned, denouncing the intimidation and surveillance as violations of free expression and safety.

Hossain famous that present repressions replicate "a recurring sample the place the federal government of Iran responds to protests and dissent with intense repression marked by human rights violations."

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly cracked down on protest actions, together with a college pupil rebellion in 1999 and 2009's Inexperienced Motion, in response to the contested re-election of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Hossain's UN mission was created within the wake of Iran's harsh crackdowns on the "Girls, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022, which had been sparked by the dying in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly flouting modesty legal guidelines for ladies.

"Repressive measures and insurance policies proceed to deprive girls and women of their elementary rights," she mentioned.

The mission additionally examined Israel's lethal airstrikes on Evin jail.

"Our preliminary investigation signifies that the Israeli airstrikes hit civilian buildings within the jail advanced, which don't represent professional navy goals, and that the strikes on these buildings had been possible intentional," Hossain mentioned.