The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights (A.O.H.R) expresses its deep concern over the dangerous escalation taking place in Iran amid ongoing popular protests, accompanied by widespread and systematic human rights violations against peaceful demonstrators.

According to reliable field information and reports obtained by the organization, the death toll has exceeded 2,100 people as a result of the excessive use of force and live ammunition by Iranian security forces. In addition, hundreds of individuals have been arbitrarily arrested, including protesters, human rights activists, and journalists in various Iranian cities, including the Ahwaz region.

Furthermore, confirmed information received by the organization indicates that Iranian intelligence and security agencies are deliberately working to militarize peaceful demonstrations by deploying armed security personnel disguised in civilian clothing among protesters. These elements reportedly open fire, loot banks, and set fire to or vandalize government institutions in a calculated effort to create chaos.

The organization affirms that such actions aim to provide pretexts for security forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to violently suppress the protests and to distort their peaceful nature before both domestic and international public opinion.

In the same context, the organization has documented that the semi-official Fars News Agency has broadcast so-called “confessions” by a number of detainees arrested in several Iranian cities, including cities in the Ahwaz region. The organization confirms that these confessions were extracted under physical and psychological torture, and under unlawful detention conditions, constituting a blatant violation of fair trial standards and international conventions that strictly prohibit torture in all its forms.

The Ahwazi Organization for Human Rights stresses that the broadcasting of forced confessions by official or semi-official media outlets constitutes a serious legal and moral crime, and represents an attempt to defame detainees and justify the ongoing security crackdown. The organization holds the Iranian authorities fully responsible for the safety and well-being of all detainees.

The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights calls for:

• An immediate halt to the use of violence and live ammunition against protesters;

• The unconditional release of all individuals detained in connection with the protests;

• An immediate cessation of broadcasting forced confessions extracted under torture;

• The launch of an independent and transparent international investigation into the killings and violations;

• Accountability for all perpetrators, without impunity.

The organization further urges the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and international human rights organizations to take urgent action, dispatch independent fact-finding missions, and adopt effective measures to protect civilians and detainees in Iran.

Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights (A.O.H.R)