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[link removed] [[link removed]] Iran’s Post-Protest Prison Crisis: Mass Detentions, Punitive Bail, and the Systematic Suppression of Dissent [[link removed]]
In the aftermath of Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, the country is facing a deepening human rights crisis that extends far beyond the streets and into prisons, courtrooms, hospitals, and family homes. While thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded, one of the most severe and enduring consequences of the repression is the mass detention of protesters, bystanders, and humanitarian actors, coupled with judicial practices designed to prolong incarceration and collectively punish families.
According to aggregated data published by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), by the end of the thirty-first day of protests, at least 42,324 people had been arrested across 201 cities in 31 provinces. During the same period, 6,221 deaths have been confirmed, including 5,858 protesters and 100 children under the age of 18, while 17,091 additional deaths remain are still slated for review and verification. At least 11,017 people have sustained severe injuries, and 261 cases of forced confessions have been documented, many of them broadcast on state media. These figures reflect only what could be verified amid severe information restrictions, prolonged internet shutdowns, and systematic intimidation of families.
Beyond these numbers lies a quieter but equally devastating reality: tens of thousands of detainees held arbitrarily, denied due process, and kept in custody through financially crippling bail requirements. Investigative reporting by the Iranian daily Shargh , based on interviews with families of detainees and defense lawyers, shows how the judiciary has transformed bail into a tool of repression. According to defense attorney Mostafa Nili, bail amounts have risen sharply and now reach one billion tomans per year of potential imprisonment—a tenfold increase compared to 2022—resulting in bail demands of several billion tomans even in cases involving minor or unproven charges.
In many instances, families who are theoretically able to provide bail are prevented from doing so in practice. Court officials reportedly deny access to courthouses, delay procedures until deadlines expire, or refuse to accept property deeds, ensuring continued detention regardless of legal eligibility. For most families, however, the crisis is insurmountable. Amid Iran’s worsening economic conditions, ordinary households cannot afford such sums. Parents describe selling or mortgaging homes, relying on relatives, or losing hope altogether. One mother told Shargh that her daughter—arrested merely for passing through a street during protests—spent twelve days in detention for no crime other than being present. Others remain imprisoned under reported bail demands of up to eight billion tomans, amounts entirely beyond the reach of average citizens.
These practices amount to collective punishment, targeting not only detainees but also their families, and constitute clear violations of Iran’s obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They undermine the right to liberty, the presumption of innocence, proportionality in judicial measures, and access to a fair and timely legal process.
Arrests have continued even after street protests subsided, following a pattern of post-protest detentions across cities such as Zahedan, Gorgan, Lahijan, Qazvin, Javanrud, and Babol. In multiple cases, injured protesters have been arrested while still undergoing medical treatment, violating the right to health and access to care. At the same time, restrictions on legal representation, pressure on lawyers, and coerced confessions have become systemic features of the judicial response. The first reported court case related to the January 2025 protests, held in Malard, has drawn criticism due to indications of ineffective legal defense and proceedings that fall far short of fair-trial standards.
This mass detention campaign has unfolded alongside a broader policy of information control and digital repression. Prolonged internet shutdowns—described by monitoring groups as a “digital blackout”—have restricted public access to information and obstructed documentation of abuses. Alternative communication tools, including satellite internet equipment, have been confiscated and treated as security threats. Reports also indicate that schools and hospitals have been used as extensions of the security apparatus, while medical professionals who treated injured protesters have been arrested or threatened, further eroding humanitarian protections.
Taken together, these developments point to a deliberate and systematic strategy aimed at suppressing dissent through fear, prolonged incarceration, economic exhaustion, and the dismantling of social and legal support networks. The Iranian government bears full responsibility for this unfolding human rights catastrophe. The arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of citizens, the use of excessive and discriminatory bail, the denial of due process, the criminalization of medical and humanitarian assistance, and the broadcasting of forced confessions constitute systematic violations of international human rights law.
The National Iranian American Council unequivocally condemns the Iranian authorities for the killing of thousands of protesters, the mass arrest and detention of protesters, bystanders, and children, and the use of punitive bail as a mechanism of repression. NIAC calls for accountability and the pursuit of justice for the killing of thousands of protesters, including through independent and impartial investigations into unlawful killings. NIAC further demands the establishment of an independent fact-finding committee to determine the accurate number of those killed, as well as the full scope of injuries, detentions, and other human rights violations committed during and after the protests. NIAC also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals detained solely for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and association, an end to the use of excessive bail as a tool of punishment, independent international access to detention facilities, and accountability for officials responsible for arbitrary detention, torture, and judicial abuse. Until prisoners are freed and the truth is fully established, justice remains impossible.
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This is an email from the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). NIAC's Human Rights Tracker [[link removed]] is part of our efforts to spotlight human rights in Iran as a means of holding the Iranian government accountable. As an American organization, we don't have a role to play in the domestic affairs of Iran. But we do have an obligation to support international human rights standards to which the U.S. and Iran are party.
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