Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, warned during an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council about the wide scale of violence, arrests, and internet shutdowns, and called for urgent action by the international community to support protesters and hold Iranian regime officials accountable.
Mai Sato said on Friday, January 22, at the emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the nationwide protests began on December 28 following severe economic problems and turned into a broad-based movement across Iran, in which men and women from various ethnic and religious groups demanded “political change.”
A Case File of a Crime: How Did the Rasht Bazaar Massacre Happen?
Emphasizing the right to peaceful protest, Sato said the difference between a democratic and an authoritarian government is that people are able to demand change peacefully, and that authorities respond to these demands instead of resorting to repression.
She added that the situation worsened significantly from January 8, when Iranian regime authorities implemented an almost complete shutdown of telecommunications.
According to Sato, this measure has prevented the international observation and documentation of human rights violations while simultaneously disrupting the coordination of peaceful protests. She said the communications blackout has caused deep suffering for families inside and outside Iran who are unable to ensure the safety of their loved ones.
Uncertainty over casualty figures and pressure on families
The UN Special Rapporteur said that due to the internet shutdown, the number of those killed remains disputed, allowing the authorities to control the flow of information. She added that officials have reported more than 3,000 deaths, including security forces, but some civil society estimates put the death toll at tens of thousands, figures that she said cannot be independently verified.
Sato emphasized that this stark discrepancy shows how the internet shutdown has concealed the true scale of what has occurred.
Iran Protests, January 2026
Iranian Regime Security forces brutally attack female protester#IranProtests #IranRevolution #FreeIran2026 #No2ShahNo2Mullahs pic.twitter.com/5FqG5edg12— Iran Focus (@Iran_Focus) January 23, 2026
She said she has received reports indicating that some families have been pressured to falsely identify their deceased relatives as members of the Basij militia or were forced to pay money to receive the bodies, actions that she said combine grief with extortion.
Use of lethal force and mass arrests
Referring to the Iranian regime’s official narrative, Sato said labeling protesters as terrorists, rioters, or mercenaries is the same pattern used during the 2022 protests, aimed at justifying violent repression. She added that the regime’s leader and the head of the government have called for harsh behavior, and the head of the judiciary has emphasized swift prosecutions without leniency.
She said the use of lethal force is only permitted as a last resort to protect life, but that she has received numerous videos showing the use of lethal force against unarmed protesters, an action that she said is inconsistent with the legal principles of necessity and proportionality.
The UN Special Rapporteur also reported the arrest of tens of thousands of people, including school students, without access to a lawyer or contact with their families, and said she has received reports indicating that some detainees have been pressured to make “forced televised confessions.”
