Forty-eight Iranian attorneys-at-law issued a statement on Thursday, February 5, 2026, criticizing the handling of charges against detainees from the January 2026 protests and warning that the continuation of this approach would further undermine the credibility of the rule of law.
Referring to the killing of thousands of people during the protests, the lawyers called for respect for the rights of detainees and stated:
“The defendants’ right to defense must never be compromised by accelerated judicial proceedings, political and security pressures, or expansive and extra-legal interpretations.”
In addition to the “denial of the right to an independent defense attorney,” the statement lists numerous objections to the judiciary’s handling of detainees’ cases, including:
“Hasty trials; identical reports by law enforcement authorities; similar charges that in some cases have led to identical and gravely flawed rulings by prosecutors’ offices and courts; the channeling of cases to a limited number of specific branches; court sessions lasting only a few minutes; restrictions on informing and responding to families; limitations on families’ access to judicial authorities; the broadcasting of illegal televised confessions; unlawful restrictions or prohibitions on detainees’ right to appoint legal counsel; the issuance of detention orders disproportionate to the content of the case or orders resulting in detention; restrictions on phone calls and visits and the failure to implement bail orders under various pretexts; severe prison overcrowding; the spread of disease; and the failure to adequately address prisoners’ health and medical needs.”
The lawyers also expressed concern over repeated reports of “the use of violent treatment, extraction of confessions under pressure, and the detention of detainees in solitary confinement.”
Meanwhile, Iran Human Rights, citing the Islamic Republic’s long record of issuing death sentences based on forced confessions, warned of the risk of executions and “extrajudicial killings” of protesters.
In the same context, HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (based in the United States), reported that Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people during the crackdown on nationwide protests, with new arrests continuing.
According to the report, published on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, HRANA stated that at least 50,235 individuals have been arrested in connection with the recent protests. The report documents 106 student arrests, 303 cases of forced confessions, and 11,046 summonses. It also records a total of 666 protest-related incidents across 209 cities in 31 provinces.
