Over 50,000 people have been arrested in Iran, a non-governmental organization announced today, stressing that repression in the country continues unabated.
The Islamic Republic violently suppressed in early January a broad wave of protests, which erupted in late December and peaked on January 8 and 9.
Iranian authorities admit that thousands of people have lost their lives, but state that the vast majority of the victims were members of the security forces or bystanders, killed by "terrorists" who, according to them, were acting on behalf of the United States and Israel.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which had previously reported over 42,000 arrests, revised the figure upwards today, documenting at least 50,235 arrests related to the protests.
According to the US-based organization, the arrests have targeted “a wide range of citizens, mainly students, writers and teachers.” HRANA adds that in some cases the arrests have been accompanied by “home searches and confiscation of personal belongings.”
The organization also reports over 300 'forced confessions' broadcast by state television.
Amnesty International also expressed concern last week about the arrest of thousands of people, including children.
According to the NGO, these people are exposed to "serious risk of enforced disappearances, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, death in custody, and arbitrary executions after manifestly unfair trials."
Iran's judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, warned today that there would be "zero tolerance" for those involved in the protests. Meanwhile, the prosecution explained that some of them face sentences that could reach the death penalty.
Iranian director Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer of the film "A Simple Accident," which won the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of helping to draft a statement critical of the government.
He was arrested along with student leader Abdollah Momeni and journalist and women's rights activist Vida Rabbani, according to the Iranian Fars news agency.
The text, signed by more than a dozen dissidents, compares the repression to a "state crime against humanity," explains the foundation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who has been in prison since December. She was arrested during a protest held before the latest wave of demonstrations.
