International human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced in a news release on Tuesday that Iran has arrested the family members of dozens of protesters who were imprisoned or killed during the 2022 anti-government protests that took place in the country.
The group documented numerous instances of threats, harassment, and arrests on false charges, based on interviews conducted by various human rights organizations. The reports included the arrest of a 15-year-old who had visited his brother’s grave after he was killed in the September 30, 2022 “Bloody Friday” crackdown on peaceful protesters, as well as the violent and warrantless arrest of another protester’s son during a house raid.
The “women, life, freedom” protests against the Iranian government broke out in the state after the death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old woman died under mysterious circumstances whilst in police custody after reportedly violating Iran’s mandatory hijab law. The protests were described as “unlike any the country had ever seen before” and resulted in widespread government intervention, ultimately leading to the deaths of over 500 participants and the arrest of over 19,000 others. In 2023, a UN fact-finding mission urged Iranian authorities to release individuals still in custody for their involvement in the protests, emphasizing that they should not be penalized for exercising their right to peaceful assembly or for reporting on the demonstrations through the press.
Rights observers have documented how protesters in the country have been repeatedly deprived of their human rights, constituting various breaches of Iran’s international obligations, including violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, enshrined in Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To discourage civilians from seeking accountability for the treatment of their family members, Iran has a history of threatening, arresting, and punishing individuals whose relatives have experienced unfair treatment by the state. HRW previously reported on the state’s targeting of the relatives of protesters in the wake of the 2019 strikes and demonstrations over Iran’s economic situation.
