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[link removed] [[link removed]] Iran Escalates Political Repression Following January Protest Crackdown [[link removed]]
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Iranian authorities have launched a renewed wave of political repression marked by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, judicial intimidation, and harsh prison sentences targeting reformist politicians, civil society figures, lawyers, and human rights defenders. These actions follow the deadly suppression of nationwide protests in January 2026, after which political and civic actors publicly condemned state violence and called for accountability and political change.
Among those detained is Hossein Karroubi, a political activist and the son of former parliament speaker and Green Movement leader Mehdi Karroubi, who was arrested after being summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office. His lawyer confirmed the arrest and stated that no formal charges have been announced. State-affiliated media later accused Karroubi of drafting and disseminating a “subversive” statement attributed to his father.
In parallel, security forces arrested Javad Emam, spokesperson for the Reformist Front and secretary-general of the Veterans Assembly, following an early-morning raid by IRGC intelligence agents, which reportedly included a full search of his residence. One day earlier, authorities detained Azar Mansouri, head of the Reformist Front and secretary-general of the Union of Islamic Iran People Party, along with Ebrahim Asgharzadeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh, a former deputy foreign minister under President Mohammad Khatami. Reports further indicate that additional members of the Reformist Front have been summoned or threatened with prosecution, and that security forces have instructed senior figures including Mohsen Armin and Badr al-Sadat Mofidi to report to judicial authorities.
Serious due process concerns have accompanied these arrests. The lawyer representing Azar Mansouri confirmed that she was detained by judicial authorities but stated that her whereabouts remain unknown and that no contact has been permitted since her arrest. Iranian media reported that she was detained at her home in Qarchak, Varamin, under a judicial warrant issued by IRGC intelligence. Shortly before her arrest, Mansouri had issued a public statement offering condolences to “thousands of grieving families” affected by the January protests, emphasizing that the pursuit of truth and justice is a shared human and historical responsibility.
Security forces have also arrested Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad, a senior adviser to Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was among the signatories of a statement holding Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for the January killings and calling for a referendum, the formation of a constituent assembly, and an end to the Islamic Republic. Several other signatories—including Abdollah Momeni, Mehdi Mahmoudian, and Vida Rabbani—had been previously detained. Judiciary-linked media later announced that the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office had filed charges accusing these individuals of “disrupting public order” and acting in favor of foreign adversaries.
Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent human rights defender, was also sentenced by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court to seven and a half years’ imprisonment, two years of internal exile, and a two-year travel ban. According to her lawyer, the charges stem from alleged “assembly and collusion” and “propaganda against the state,” based solely on her attendance and speech at the seven day memorial ceremony for Khosro Alikordi on December 12, 2025. Her family reports that Mohammadi has been denied regular contact with her family, raising serious concerns about conditions of detention and procedural violations.
Ali Shakouri-Rad, a prominent reformist political activist and former member of Iran’s parliament, was also arrested following his remarks on the bloody suppression of protests on January 8–9. According to domestic media reports, IRGC Intelligence arrested Shakouri-Rad shortly after he left the hospital where he works.
Shakouri-Rad sharply criticized the government’s response to the protests and the conduct of security institutions in an audio recording. Following the release, hardline members of parliament and pro-government political figures publicly called for his arrest. In the audio file, Shakouri-Rad accused security forces of orchestrating violence during protests, alleging “the fabrication of deaths among regime forces” and the burning of mosques to justify repression. He further stated that Iranian security institutions have “injected violence into every protest in order to use that violence as a pretext for brutal crackdowns.” His remarks triggered fierce backlash from several members of parliament, who characterized the statements as unacceptable and demanded legal action.
Following the arrests, Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, publicly accused individuals issuing statements critical of the Islamic Republic of acting “in coordination with Israel and the United States,” reinforcing official efforts to frame peaceful political expression as a national security offense.
Taken together, the coordinated arrests, denial of due process, and criminalization of peaceful dissent reflect a systematic escalation of repression by Iranian authorities aimed at silencing political opposition and suppressing accountability efforts following the mass killing of protesters. This pattern raises serious concerns regarding violations of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, protection from arbitrary detention, and access to legal counsel, underscoring the continued use of judicial and security institutions as instruments of political control.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) strongly condemns these arrests as part of a broader campaign to silence peaceful dissent and dismantle civil society in Iran in the aftermath of the December-January protests. NIAC underscores that these actions reflect a pattern of governance rooted in repression rather than accountability, in which political expression, civil activism, and calls for justice are systematically criminalized. The mass killing, injury, and arrest of thousands of protesters following nationwide demonstrations further illustrates Iranian authorities’ continued reliance on coercion and fear to suppress public demands, deepening Iran’s human rights crisis and eroding remaining avenues for peaceful civic participation. We call on Iran to release all prisoners of conscience detained and sentenced in this latest crackdown, as well as those detained during and before the protests, as part of a broader movement into compliance with its international human rights obligations.
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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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