Amnesty International on Sept. 18 named 87 Iranian security and Interior Ministry officials who it says should face criminal investigation for crimes against humanity [8] committed during the 2022 crackdown on the Woman Life Freedom protests [9], and urged the UN Security Council to refer Iran's situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The 1,161-page report, titled "Architects of Atrocities," documents 377 fatalities among protesters and bystanders between September and December 2022, of whom 56 were children, along with widespread torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary imprisonment. Amnesty found that Balochi and Kurdish Iranians, who make up roughly 5 percent [12] and 10 to 15 percent [13] of Iran's population, respectively, accounted for 62% of recorded deaths. The findings draw on interviews with 270 people and analysis of more than 2,000 videos.
Of the 87 officials named, 62 are security commanders whom Amnesty analyzed under the doctrine of "superior responsibility," codified in Article 28 [14] of the Rome Statute. These individuals include officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Police Command of the Islamic Republic, whose Persian acronym is FARAJA. The remaining 25 are Interior Ministry officials, including provincial governors, whom Amnesty analyzed under the theory of aiding and abetting [15], enshrined under Article 25(3)(c) [14] of the Rome Statute.
Six of those named have since died, among them then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and armed forces chief Mohammad Bagheri, both killed in the US and Israeli air-strikes on Iran that began Feb. 28, 2026. Amnesty said it wrote to Iran's Supreme Leader, the commanders of FARAJA, and the interior minister last month seeking comment and offering the named officials a right of reply, but had received no response by the date of the report's publication.
"Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity to crush the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising," Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard said in a statement [16] accompanying the report. "The officials named remain beyond the reach of justice in Iran."
Amnesty said impunity for the 2022 crackdown set precedent for an even deadlier crackdown in January 2026, when Iranian security forces killed thousands over two days during nationwide demonstrations sparked by worsening economic conditions. Human Rights Watch reported this month that Iran has since executed at least 59 men [17] on national security charges, including at least 29 tied to the January 2026 unrest and at least three to the 2022 movement.
The UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to open an interactive dialogue [18] Sept. 21 on the findings of its Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. It is unclear if the dialogue will address Amnesty's call for a Security Council referral to the ICC and General Assembly action to create a new international criminal justice mechanism for Iran.
From JURIST [19], Sept. 17. Used with permission. Internal links added.
