Rights monitors report thousands killed and tens of thousands arrested in Iran’s January uprising, including over 160 children, amid forced confessions, medical intimidation, and rising execution fears.
As repression continues, HRANA (the Human Rights Activists News Agency) reported that by the end of Wednesday, 15 Bahman 1404 (February 4, 2026), the total number of deaths linked to the crackdown had reached 6,883.
HRANA’s breakdown indicates:
- 6,445 of those killed were protesters.
- 164 were children under 18.
- 214 were government-affiliated forces, and 60 were non-protesting civilians.
- 11,280 additional cases remain under review.
HRANA also reported 11,021 civilian injuries and described a continued pattern of lethal force and escalating securitization.
Children in the crosshairs
The reported child death toll has become a central marker of the uprising’s human-rights catastrophe. Alongside HRANA’s figure of 164 children killed, former political prisoner and teachers’ union activist Mohammad Habibi published the names of slain students, describing them as the residents of “five empty classrooms.” He wrote that the list had already passed 160 children—“160 names, 160 dreams, 160 stolen futures”—and warned that new names continue to appear, underscoring the scale and persistence of child casualties.
Mass arrests, summonses, and enforced uncertainty
HRANA reported 50,842 arrests by 15 Bahman 1404 (February 4, 2026), alongside 11,046 summonses and 307 cases of forced confessions. It also cited at least 109 student arrests.
On the ground, HRANA documented ongoing scattered and mass detentions across multiple provinces—including Tehran, Fars, Ilam, Gilan, Kermanshah, and Kurdistan—and noted continued lack of information about the whereabouts of some detainees, including several women in Tehran. In one collective case, the arrest of 265 citizens in Bandar Anzali and Langarud was reported.
Detention conditions: beatings, forced confessions, and denial of medical care
Multiple accounts point to detention as a second front of repression. HRANA cited political prisoner Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, who warned from Isfahan Central Prison about detainees with serious injuries—reportedly caused by live ammunition and shrapnel—being denied medical treatment.
In parallel, the Iran Human Rights organization warned that the post-crackdown phase has entered an “emergency” stage for detainees, with thousands at serious risk in official and unofficial detention sites. The organization reported that more than 40,000 people have been arrested in connection with the protests, with many held under the control of the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence, cut off from family and legal counsel and outside meaningful judicial oversight.
Iran Human Rights emphasized three acute threats:
- Death of injured detainees due to deliberate medical deprivation or torture.
- Allegations of secret executions without due process (reports described as credible but still under review).
- A wave of death sentences following rushed, deeply unfair trials.
It also noted the systematic use of security charges such as moharebeh (a charge often translated as “enmity against God,” used in Iran for serious political/security accusations and potentially punishable by death), “terrorism,” and “cooperation with the enemy,” alongside widespread state broadcasting of coerced confessions.
Militarization and information control
Beyond arrests and killings, a wider architecture of control has taken shape. HRANA highlighted sustained internet disruptions, with many users reporting severe slowdowns and repeated disconnections. Data cited from Kentik indicated that internet traffic remained about 50% below pre-blackout levels, while a deputy communications minister acknowledged that the network had “not yet returned to normal,” describing disruptions as beyond the ministry’s control—further deepening uncertainty and limiting documentation and access to information.
In the political-security sphere, remarks by MP Esmail Kowsari drew attention after he said the Supreme National Security Council decided that police, Basij, and the IRGC would enter the field “armed” to “neutralize” the protests—comments that, set against casualty and detention figures, reinforced fears of further escalation.
Society’s response: teachers, doctors, artists, and child-rights advocates
Reactions have widened across professional and cultural spheres:
- In education and civil society, Habibi’s publication of students’ names framed the child death toll as an assault on the right to life and education, insisting that the victims would not be forgotten and that demands for justice remain alive.
- In the medical sphere, Iran’s Supreme Council of the Medical System issued a statement warning about threats and pressure on healthcare workers and calling for their protection—reflecting growing concern that treating injured protesters is being obstructed or criminalized.
- In child rights advocacy, the Komak Network and more than 20 civil and labor organizations issued a formal letter to the head of Iran’s Prisons Organization demanding the immediate and unconditional release of detainees under 18, especially students. Citing Iran’s own child- and juvenile-procedure laws, the signatories argued that detention in punitive environments can cause irreversible psychological, social, and educational harm. The network also announced readiness to provide psychosocial support, social-work services, legal counseling, and pro bono legal representation after release. Copies of the letter were sent to multiple state bodies, and follow-ups reportedly continue.
- In the cultural sphere, the Fajr Film Festival became a site of public tension and visible dissent, including objections by prominent figures and publicized refusals to participate, signaling how cultural institutions are being pulled into the wider social rupture created by the crackdown.
Across these developments, the pattern is consistent: lethal street repression has been followed by mass detention, coercive confession practices, medical intimidation, and heightened fears of executions—while public resistance expands among teachers, child-rights defenders, medical bodies, and cultural figures, even as internet disruption constrains visibility and documentation.
