Based on Amnesty International’s 2025 Human Rights Report
In 2024, the Iranian regime intensified its crackdown on fundamental freedoms, targeting dissent, persecuting minorities, and expanding its use of torture and the death penalty. Amnesty International’s 2025 report delivers a bleak assessment of Iran regime’s human rights landscape, highlighting systemic violations across political, legal, and social spheres.
Freedom of Expression and Assembly Under Siege
The Iranian regime authorities escalated their suppression of freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Independent civil society organizations, political parties, and trade unions remained banned. Peaceful protesters, journalists, students, artists, academics, and minority activists faced harsh reprisals, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, unfair trials, and sentences involving flogging or imprisonment.
Censorship remained pervasive. Media outlets were silenced, satellite signals jammed, and major social media platforms remained blocked or filtered. The pending Internet User Protection Bill and the January decree banning VPNs signaled further digital repression. After President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in May, hundreds were criminally charged or intimidated for criticizing him or encouraging election boycotts.
Enforced Disappearances and Widespread Torture
Iranian regime security forces routinely subjected detainees to enforced disappearances and incommunicado detention. Torture, including beatings and forced medication in psychiatric institutions, was systematic. State media continued to broadcast forced confessions obtained under duress. Several individuals died in custody under suspicious circumstances, such as Mohammad Mirmousavi, whose death was only acknowledged by authorities after public outrage over leaked footage.
Prisoners endured inhumane conditions—overcrowding, poor sanitation, infestations, and medical neglect. The Islamic Penal Code continued to sanction cruel punishments like flogging, amputation, and stoning. At least 186 flogging sentences were documented, with many carried out.
Arbitrary Detentions and Sham Trials
The judiciary—lacking independence—played a key role in suppressing dissent. Due process violations were routine, including denial of legal representation and the use of torture-tainted confessions. Foreign and dual nationals were arbitrarily detained, often as political leverage.
Women and Girls Targeted Under “Chastity” Laws
Women’s rights saw further erosion in 2024. The regime implemented the Noor Plan, intensifying its enforcement of compulsory veiling through surveillance technologies like facial recognition. Women faced harassment, violence, expulsion from education, and even lethal force for violating dress codes. In July, a woman was seriously injured after police opened fire during an attempted vehicle confiscation.
Prominent women’s rights defenders, including Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi, were sentenced to death on politically motivated charges. In September, parliament passed the Law Supporting the Family Through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab, further entrenching systemic discrimination. Plans for a “clinic” to “treat” unveiled women with psychological interventions were announced in November.
Ethnic and Religious Discrimination
Iran’s ethnic minorities—including Kurds, Baluchis, Azerbaijani Turks, Ahwazi Arabs, and Turkmen—continued to face entrenched discrimination in education, employment, housing, and political participation. Unarmed Kurdish porters and Baluchi fuel carriers were routinely shot with impunity by security forces.
Religious minorities, especially Baha’is, Christians, and Sunni Muslims, suffered systematic persecution. Authorities raided homes, closed businesses, destroyed cemeteries, and imprisoned people for peacefully practicing their faith. Baha’i women were especially targeted, with dozens arrested and sentenced.
Persecution of Afghan Refugees
Afghan nationals in Iran faced escalating hostility and xenophobia. Over 850,000 were forcibly deported without due process. Refugees were denied access to basic services and subjected to violent border control practices. In October, reports emerged of Iranian forces firing on Afghan migrants at the Pakistan border—allegations the government denied and failed to investigate.
Rampant Use of the Death Penalty
Hundreds were executed following unfair trials, often for non-lethal offenses like drug-related charges. The death penalty was used to stifle dissent and disproportionately affected ethnic minorities, especially Baluchis and Afghans. Notably, individuals were executed for acts protected by international law, such as same-sex relationships and apostasy. In violation of international norms, Iran continued to execute juvenile offenders and individuals with mental disabilities.
Institutionalized Impunity
Impunity for human rights violations persisted. Despite international scrutiny, including renewed UN mandates for Iran-specific investigations, authorities blocked access to all independent monitors. Security forces continued to fire on civilians with no accountability, particularly affecting the Baluchi minority.
The judiciary quashed or reversed several rare prosecutions of security officials, often under political pressure. Investigations into the 2020 downing of Ukraine Flight PS752 and the 1988 prison massacres remained stalled, with perpetrators still holding senior positions. Families seeking justice were harassed, and access to burial sites was blocked.
Regional Militarism and International Fallout
Iran regime’s foreign interventions escalated regional tensions. Tehran continued to support militant groups including Hamas and Hezbollah, and launched missile attacks on Israel in April and October in retaliation for assassinations and attacks on its officials. The October strike resulted in the death of a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank, followed by Israeli airstrikes killing Iranian military personnel. Iran also provided military support to Syria’s Assad regime until his ousting in December and supplied drones and ballistic missiles to Russia, used against civilians in Ukraine.
Conclusion: A Grim Human Rights Record
Iran’s domestic and international behavior in 2024 reflects a state deepening its repression, disregarding international human rights law, and weaponizing violence and surveillance to stifle opposition. With systemic impunity and institutional hostility toward women, minorities, and dissenters, the path forward remains perilous for millions under the regime’s rule. Amnesty’s report calls for continued international pressure and accountability to halt Iran’s ongoing human rights crisis.
