Amnesty said leaked Iranian state documents and interviews show security forces were ordered to crush the 2022 protests with a “firm and severe” response, including instructions to act “mercilessly” and even cause death.
The rights group verified 377 deaths — including 56 children — and documented 16 detainees allegedly raped in custody, among them six women, seven men, a 14-year-old girl and two teenage boys.
Mahsa Amini’s death in custody at age 22 triggered the women-led nationwide protests, drawing tens of thousands into the streets before the state launched the crackdown.
Eighty-seven officials, including late supreme leader Ali Khamenei and former armed forces chief Mohammad Bagheri, were identified by Amnesty as potential subjects for crimes-against-humanity investigations.
Amnesty said impunity over the 2022 crackdown helped pave the way for an even deadlier suppression of January 2026 protests, when thousands were killed over 48 hours.