Lecture at the Annual General MeetiLecture at the Annual General Meeting by Haleh Hosseini Ramandi, who is a women’s rights activist with roots in Tehran and has lived in Germany for many years. As the chairperson of the Iranian Liberal Women, she campaigns with great determination for the democratic and freedom movement in Iran. The following addresses systematic human rights violations in Iran during the mass protests from December 2025 to March 2026.

Bonn, April 11, 2026.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends of a democratic and free Iran and of a peaceful Middle East,

I am here today to speak about topics that are not easy. You already know that we find ourselves in a very dramatic situation in Iran. My presentation today is about a report that we recently developed in our association, in the Human Rights Working Group. In the following, I would like to give you a summary contextualization of this report and share the most important results with you.

The full lecture by Haleh Hosseini Ramandi as a video

On December 28, 2025, coordinated demonstrations began in several provinces of Iran and spread rapidly nationwide, reaching all 31 provinces and more than 200 cities. The mobilization included students, workers, women’s groups, professionals, retirees, as well as members of various ethnic and religious communities. The geographical reach and political goals distinguish these events from previous protest cycles.

The demonstrators publicly demanded structural political changes and the end of the regime. During this time, Prince Reza Pahlavi emerged as a central political leadership voice, described the events as a national revolution, and called for coordinated civil resistance as well as the refusal of unlawful orders by members of the armed forces. His statements spread widely before the digital restrictions were tightened.

This report is based on cross-referenced documentation from independent human rights monitoring centers, investigative reporting by Persian-language and international media, verified case files, as well as eyewitness testimonies kept in secure archives of the reporting organization. No single source forms the sole basis of evidence; the results were confirmed across multiple documentation categories.

The documentation took place under severe state-imposed restrictions. The authorities enforced nationwide internet shutdowns and bandwidth throttling. Digital platforms were filtered and communication channels monitored, which restricted the real-time transmission of photographic and video-based evidence.

Families of those killed or detained reported pressure not to publish identities, circumstances of death, or locations of detention. In some cases, relatives were instructed to attribute deaths to alternative causes. These practices significantly hindered transparency.

Patterns in the use of violence and arrest operations showed operational uniformity across geographically distant regions. Reports document the use of live ammunition, the deployment of snipers, mass arrests, ill-treatment in detention, as well as broadcast confessions that took place parallelly in different provinces.

The repetition of identical tactics within overlapping periods supports the conclusion that the repression was centrally coordinated and not locally random.

Independent documentation confirms that at least 40,000 individuals were killed in the first months of the revolution. Arrest numbers exceeded 50,000 cases during the same period. Among those detained are men, women, and minors, as well as students, journalists, and ordinary civilians. Due to internet shutdowns and the intimidation of families, the confirmed number of fatalities represents a documented minimum value.

The scale of lethal violence and detentions represents one of the largest documented waves of repression in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Security forces used live ammunition against civilian demonstrators. Documented weapons include semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, large-caliber firearms, and shotguns with metal pellets. Medical documentation confirms gunshot wounds concentrated on the head, neck, and chest. This anatomical target pattern indicates a deliberate lethal intent and not indiscriminate shelling.

The repression also extended to medical facilities. Eyewitness testimonies and photographic evidence confirm that injured demonstrators were localized by security forces inside hospitals. In documented cases, injured persons received gunshots to the head at close range while undergoing medical treatment.

The deliberate killing of injured persons in medical facilities constitutes an extrajudicial execution.

Several detainees died after their arrest. Official documentation attributed the deaths to non-violent causes, but photographic evidence and eyewitness testimonies document visible injuries that do not align with these explanations. The patterns include blunt force trauma and indications of torture.

Arrests took place during demonstrations, through nighttime house searches, as well as through summonses from security authorities. Detainees had no timely access to legal counsel and were not informed of transparent charges. Families often remained in the dark about the places of detention.

Since the beginning of the war, an additional minimum of 1,478 people were arrested in the period from February 28 to March 25, 2026. State agencies also reported further arrests as well as the classification of hundreds of people as “disrupters of security” in cyberspace. The allegations range from espionage and information sharing to online activities, where in many cases simply sending photos or videos is sufficient to be criminalized.

In addition, even access to a free internet is criminalized. Those affected are not treated as defendants but are referred to as “spies,” “terrorists,” “mercenaries,” or “agents of the enemy,” while at the same time the population is called upon to denounce them.

State-controlled media broadcast recorded confessions before a judicial decision. Security forces also targeted students, entered universities and dormitories, and also arrested minors.

Families were denied access to the bodies of their relatives, in some cases for weeks. In some cases, high financial demands were made for the release, while at the same time pressure was exerted to sign false statements regarding the circumstances of death.

Parallel to this, judicial structures were instrumentalized. Detainees were charged under broad national security regulations, including offenses historically linked to the death penalty. Accelerated proceedings and restricted access to defense undermined principles of the rule of law.

The documented acts include murder, detention, torture, and political persecution. Responsibility extends beyond the immediate perpetrators to leadership levels and political decision-makers.

In conclusion, the events in the period of the National Revolution of 2025–2026 show a nationwide, coordinated state response, characterized by lethal violence, mass arrests, ill-treatment in detention, digital oppression, and the restriction of fundamental rights.

These developments represent serious violations of international human rights standards and require independent investigations as well as effective accountability mechanisms.

Freedom in Iran means freedom for the world. This fight is also our fight. When Iranians are free, when Iran is one day free and democratic again, we do not only win a free Iran and a more peaceful Middle East, but come a big step closer to a peaceful world.