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News Archives Center For Human Rights In Iran

Alistair Lowe
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news archives center for human rights in iran

At least 1,500 Arrested in Iran as State Intensifies Domestic Crackdown Grave Fears of Manufactured Charges, Sham Trials, Death Sentences Cover of War Used to Silence Dissent and Justify Violent Repression March 31, 2026 — One month since the outbreak of the war in Iran, Islamic Republic security forces are carrying out a sweeping new wave of arbitrary arrests across the country.

At least 1,500 individuals are known to have been arrested, according to Iranian government figures, but the actual number may be far higher, as there may be many unreported arrests and more occur each day. Security forces have carried out coordinated arrests across multiple cities, often involving violent raids and enforced disappearances, targeting ordinary citizens, activists, students, religious minorities, and the families of protesters and activists abroad.

“The Iranian authorities are exploiting the cover of war to launch a sweeping campaign of repression,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “These arrests are not about security—they are about silencing dissent, punishing critics, and instilling fear across society.” “With over a thousand new detainees, the risk of torture, coerced confessions, and executions is alarmingly high. This regime showed it would kill thousands in a matter of days during the recent protests in January.

CHRI calls on governments worldwide and all relevant UN bodies to urgently and directly address the violent and unlawful crackdown underway in Iran and: - Demand that the Iranian authorities immediately cease all executions - Call for an end to the arbitrary arrests underway throughout the country - Call for the immediate release of all detainees and political prisoners CHRI urges the international community to incorporate these demands in any negotiations that may be undertaken with the Islamic Republic, irrespective of any potential concession that the Islamic Republic may make in other areas.

Mass Arrests, Little Information The Iranian authorities have provided little to no information about the charges against the more than 1,500 individuals who have been arrested in recent weeks. Since the start of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, arrests have been taking place across the country, including in Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, East Azerbaijan, Gilan, Lorestan, Fars, Kerman, Khuzestan, Kurdistan, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

Some of the alleged reasons for recent arrests include owning Starlink, social media activity, sharing content with foreign media, filming the site of strikes, spreading public anxiety, espionage, gathering information for foreign governments, and attempting to disrupt public security. Individuals have also been arrested simply for peacefully expressing their views. For example, Ameneh Ghasemzadeh and her son, Aryo Moshrefi, a 15-year-old teenager, were arrested in the early days of the war in Savojbolagh County for celebrating the death of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The arrests have been carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ministry of Intelligence agents, and local police. Authorities have not revealed details about the vast majority of the arrests, refusing to release names, whereabouts, charges, the condition of the detainees, or the status of the cases. Intimidation and Threats These arrests are taking place in the context of a highly militarized environment in towns and cities throughout the country.

CHRI has received reports that armed state agents are patrolling the streets and authorities have established checkpoints in multiple cities across Iran and are conducting aggressive, unlawful phone searches. State authorities have repeatedly threatened citizens with arrest and harsh retaliation not only for participating in any protests, but for expressing any form of dissent.

Judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei declared on March 4 that anyone who acts or speaks against the state “will be considered the enemy.” The IRGC’s intelligence agency warned any citizens who protested of “a blow even stronger than that of January 8” (referring to the state’s massacre of thousands of protesters during the nationwide protests this past January). On March 11, 2026, a state TV host threatened: “Once the dust of sedition settles, we will come after you, one by one….

we will make your families mourn you.” And Chief of Police Ahmadreza Radan told state TV: “All our forces have their fingers on the trigger. Our forces are deployed in the streets day and night.” The threat of more arrests and the public equation of dissent with sedition, a charge that can result in the death penalty, has become central to the Islamic Republic’s strategy to instill fear in the population and extinguish domestic dissent.

And it is not an empty threat—on March 19, 2026, three young men—Saleh Mohammadi, 19, Saeed Davoudi, 21, and Mehdi Ghasemi—who were all arrested during the January 2026 protests, were publicly hanged in Qom after being convicted of “waging war against God.” The executions followed grossly unfair trials without any semblance of due process, with forced “confessions” obtained under torture.

Iranian Judiciary Issues Indictments in War-Related Arrests Iran’s Judiciary announced on March 29, 2026, that indictments had already been issued against a number of individuals arrested in connection with the ongoing war, increasing fears that fast-tracked trials without due process are underway. According to the Judiciary’s media agency, some of the accused could face the charge of “corruption on earth” (mofsed-e fel-arz), which is punishable by the death penalty. Authorities allege the detainees collaborated with “terrorist” satellite networks by sharing images and information about missile strike locations and sensitive sites.

The Judiciary said the cases are based on evidence obtained from seized electronic devices and “explicit confessions.” It should be noted that the Islamic Republic routinely extracts false “confessions” under torture from political detainees, and equates domestic political dissent with “terrorism.” No details have been released about the identities or number of those who have already been charged. Home Raids and Arrests of Activists Civil and political activists have been among the targets of the intensifying campaign, including those who have not been related to any actions regarding the war.

The following are just a few known examples. On March 11, 2026, Hamid Chapati, a civil activist and former political prisoner in Urmia, was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents. Officers searched his home and confiscated two mobile phones, his passport, national ID card, and birth certificate. In addition, several of his books and personal handwritten notes were seized without legal authorization. On March 17, 2026, Moslem Zarei, a cultural activist from Kermanshah, was arrested and taken to an undisclosed location.

He is the brother of Kurdish civil activist Mahsa Zarei, who has previously been detained. A day earlier, on March 16, 2026, artist and former political prisoner Sasan Chaman-Ara and his sister Parastoo Chaman-Ara were arrested in Ilam. On March 14, 2026, documentary filmmaker and former political prisoner Mojgan Ilanlou was violently arrested alongside her husband and daughter. Arrests have also targeted cultural figures and protest voices. On March 13, 2026, protest rapper Hossein Afrasiab was arrested in Shahin Shahr by plainclothes agents.

On March 17, 2026, Manouchehr Aghabigi, a board member of the Kermanshah Teachers’ Trade Association, was arrested and taken to an undisclosed location. On the same day, security agents raided the home of Mojtaba Goudarzi, a member of the Teachers’ Trade Association of Aligudarz and the Coordinating Council, and confiscated his communication devices. Former political prisoners Leila Mirghafari and Soheil Arabi have also reportedly been detained.

On March 18, 2026, IRGC intelligence agents raided the homes of Mohammad Habibi, spokesperson for the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations; Parvin Salimi, a board member of the Tehran Teachers’ Trade Association; and Masoud Zeinalzadeh, another member of the association, without presenting a legal warrant. During the raids, they searched the homes and confiscated communication devices belonging to the activists and their family members.

On March 28, 2026, Siamak Sadeghi Chehrazi, a member of the Khuzestan Teachers’ Trade Association, was arrested at his home and taken to an undisclosed location. Security agents raided his residence and also threatened his family against speaking publicly about his arrest. As of the time of this report, the stated reason for his arrest was “use of a VPN,” and there is still no information about his whereabouts or condition. Families Targeted, Repression Extends Beyond Borders The crackdown is also increasingly targeting the families of activists abroad.

Hossein Razzagh, a former political prisoner and activist currently in Europe, reported that intelligence agents arrested his brother on March 15, 2026, in Tehran, after raiding the family home and confiscating all electronic devices. He recently told CHRI: “My brother is not a political person at all and has had no involvement in such activities. He was even very cautious in how he communicated with me.” “Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided my brother’s home with a search and arrest warrant.

They confiscated every electronic device—phones, tablets, laptops—belonging to him, his wife, and his children, and then arrested him and left.” “Over the years, because of my activities, my brother had been summoned and interrogated several times. Once in 2021, when there was no news of me, and I was working underground, and also after I left Iran.

Pressure on the families of political activists has always existed, and it has now intensified.” Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has also announced that 15 Iranians living abroad were referred to the judiciary for “asset seizure.” This comes amid increasing attempts to silence Iranians outside of Iran. Students and Professors Among Those Detained Students and university professors are also among those being swept up in the arrests. On March 8, 2026, 20-year-old university student Dasta Farrokhi was arrested at her family home in Arak after intelligence agents raided the residence.

Authorities have also threatened her extended family due to her uncle’s political activism abroad. Farrokhi is the niece of Behnam Chegini, a political activist based in Europe. Chegini wrote on X: “Last week, the Islamic Republic arrested my niece, Dasta Farrokhi, and has since gone on to threaten my family members and relatives with job bans, dismissal, revocation of professional licenses, and more.” Sima Chambari, a chemistry student, was arrested on March 12, 2026, at her home by a large group of security agents.

Reza Dalman, a 24-year-old student at Sharif University of Technology and a participant in earlier student protests, was also arrested on March 12, 2026. In Mashhad, former university professor Ahmad Rahimi, who resigned in protest during the 2022 nationwide protests, and his wife Soheila Hosseini were arrested on March 19, 2026, after their home was raided. Arman Hajmohammadi, a master’s student in civil engineering at Sharif University of Technology, was arrested by security forces in Yazd. There is no information about his whereabouts or conditions.

Religious Minorities Increasingly Targeted Emerging reports indicate the crackdown is expanding to religious minorities, with the long-persecuted Baha’i citizens especially targeted. Pejman Zare, a Baha’i citizen, was arrested after agents ransacked his home on March 14, 2026, in Shiraz, and confiscated personal belongings, including religious materials. Authorities also searched his father’s home. Nita Babanajad and her child, Parsa Emadi, two Baha’i citizens living in Isfahan, were arrested on March 4, 2026, by intelligence agents.

Shayan Abadi, a 31-year-old Baha’i citizen, was arrested on March 23, 2026, by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Kerman. Yasmin Rahmarde, a 36-year-old Baha’i citizen and mother of two from Yazd, was arrested at her home on March 20, 2026, by intelligence agents. Borna Naeimi, a 29-year-old Baha’i citizen and father of a three-year-old, was violently arrested on March 1, 2026, in Kerman, by security forces at his workplace and taken to an undisclosed location.

Behzad Yazdani and Romina Khazali, a Baha’i couple and parents of two teenage children, were arrested on March 28, 2026, by IRGC intelligence agents and transferred to Adelabad Prison, Shiraz. Agents first detained Yazdani and transferred him to Adelabad Prison, then returned to the family home to violently arrest Khazali, while repeatedly searching their residence and her parents’ home, confiscating electronic devices and religious materials, and interrogating family members—including their 14-year-old daughter—as well as visitors.

Mahsa Sotoudeh, a Baha’i resident of Shiraz, was arrested on March 29, 2026, by IRGC intelligence agents. Agents raided her home, searched the premises, and confiscated electronic devices belonging to family members. Her whereabouts and any charges against her remain unknown. An informed source said Sotoudeh’s home is located next to that of Behzad Yazdani and Romina Khazali, two other Baha’i citizens arrested by security forces over the same weekend. The Baha’i community is not the only religious minority that has been targeted.

Mohammad Nikbakht, a Christian convert, was also detained by security forces on March 15, 2026, and is currently being held in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. Justice-Seeking Families Arrested Family members trying to seek information or justice for loved ones who have been killed by Islamic Republic security forces have also been targeted.

For example, on March 18, 2026, security forces arrested Afsaneh Rouzbehani and Behnoosh Darvishi, the mother and sister of Behnam Darvishi, who was killed in the January 2026 protests, along with nine other citizens at his gravesite in Nahavand on March 19, 2026. They were transferred to Nushijan Prison in Malayer. Esmail Shokri, meanwhile, the father of Sepehr Shokri, who was killed on January 8, 2026, was arrested at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran on March 21, 2026.

On March 19, 2026, security forces attacked a ceremony held at the grave of Sajjad Samadi, a 23-year-old protester killed in January 2026, and arrested his mother, Batool Gerami, and dozens of other people. His mother was severely beaten, resulting in her transfer to a hospital, and then, despite a broken shoulder, she was reportedly taken to Gonabad Prison. Dual-National Also Arrested Dual nationals in Iran have been caught up in the arrests as well.

Abbas Danesh, an Iranian-Austrian dual national, was arrested in Tehran on March 10, 2026, by intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). No information is available regarding his whereabouts or conditions. Arrests Build on the Mass Detentions That Followed the January Protests The current campaign of arrests and intensified suppression of domestic dissent builds on the violent state repression that took place during the January nationwide protests in Iran, which were only crushed after the killing of thousands of protesters and bystanders by state security forces.

In the wake of those protests, there was a huge surge in violent, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, with over 53,000 people arrested. CHRI believes thousands of people arrested during that time are still in detention—some of whom were forcibly disappeared and whose whereabouts and condition remain unknown. Many were held incommunicado, and almost none were allowed access to independent legal counsel.

Reports of torture and deaths in state custody emerged, hundreds of forced confessions extracted under torture were broadcast on state TV, special Revolutionary Courts were created to fast-track prosecutions of protesters, and death sentences were issued without due process. The current arrests now build upon those mass detentions and abuses, and the use of wartime exigencies to justify even more violent, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions without due process is intensifying.

While the Islamic Republic has a long history of using bogus “espionage” and “security” charges to suppress dissent and terrorize the public, in the current climate, dissidents and ordinary citizens face particularly grave risks of arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, and fast-tracked sham trials that could result in severe sentences, including the death penalty.

Indeed, the scale, coordination, and targets of the current arrests, and the widespread use of violent arrest, arbitrary detention, incommunicado imprisonment, and collective punishment of families, point to a deliberate and intensified state campaign to instill fear throughout the country and crush dissent. With the vast numbers now detained in Iran, many of whom are held in undisclosed locations, the risk of torture, deaths in state custody, coerced confessions, sham convictions, and death sentences remains alarmingly high. This report was made possible by donations from readers like you.

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