The Iranian authorities have intensified measures against journalists, dissidents, activists, and protesters through asset seizures, bank-account freezes, mass arrests, and executions linked to political activity and the January 2026 protests.

These measures raise serious concerns regarding freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, liberty and security of person, fair-trial guarantees, and the right to life. The use of criminal and financial measures against individuals for their alleged political affiliations or expression warrants scrutiny under Iran’s international human rights obligations.

Background

On 14 September 2026, judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency reported that Iranian authorities had seized assets belonging to 240 dissidents, journalists, and public figures and frozen 182 bank accounts. Mizan stated that the measures concerned individuals accused of propaganda activities or actions in favour of what Iranian authorities describe as “hostile governments.” It reported that 143 of the seizures occurred in Tehran and that some affected individuals were journalists working for Persian-language media outlets.

On the same day, Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan announced that more than 6,000 people had been arrested in connection with the January 2026 protests. Radan characterized the detainees as having participated in an attempted coup and accused some of assisting countries considered hostile to Iran.

Iran Human Rights reported that at least 532 executions had been recorded between 1 January and 31 August 2026, including 29 protesters arrested in connection with the January protests. The organization also reported that executions had followed proceedings in which defendants in protest-related cases were subjected to serious fair-trial concerns. Human Rights Watch reported that protest-related executions between March and August followed proceedings that in some cases lasted only weeks or months, with defendants prosecuted under broad national-security charges and reports of torture-tainted confessions.

Institutional Position

Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly cannot be restricted through criminal prosecution, deprivation of liberty, or economic measures merely because individuals express political views or engage in public advocacy. The reported seizure of property and freezing of bank accounts of journalists, activists, and public figures therefore warrant scrutiny of whether the measures are based on clear and accessible law and satisfy the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.

The reported executions of protesters following proceedings marked by serious fair-trial concerns raise an even more fundamental issue: the protection of the right to life. Where capital proceedings rely on vague national-security offences, coerced confessions, or inadequate access to legal representation, the safeguards required before imposing the death penalty are placed in question.

Applicable Legal Framework

Iran has been a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1975. Article 6 protects the right to life and restricts the death penalty to the “most serious crimes”; Article 9 protects against arbitrary detention; Article 14 guarantees fair-trial rights; and Article 19 protects freedom of opinion and expression. UN human rights mechanisms have repeatedly applied these standards to concerns involving executions, arbitrary detention, torture, and restrictions on expression in Iran.

Demands Aligned with International Human Rights Principles

The authorities must ensure that national security is not invoked as a basis for measures that extinguish fundamental rights or bypass due process. Protection of public order cannot be achieved through executions, arbitrary detention, or punitive restrictions on lawful expression.

Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC)
Geneva, Switzerland — September 15, 2026