The Betrayal of the Iranian People
The world has not reckoned with the violence visited on Iranians in 2026.
TL;DR
- Seventeen-year-old Sam Afshari was killed by Iranian security forces during a protest, with his family subjected to extortion and forced to sign false testimonies for his remains.
- The conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States in 2026 has exacerbated domestic repression, providing cover for human rights abuses and justifying violence against perceived enemies.
- Human rights organizations are documenting a massive scale of killings, extortion at morgues, and the forced confessions of detainees, with estimates of massacre victims nearing 7,000.
- Iran has increased executions of political prisoners, with a significant reversal in the pattern of convictions, now predominantly for political reasons.
- A new espionage law criminalizes contact with the US and Israel, making charges like 'sowing corruption on earth,' punishable by death, easier to impose.
- The IRGC's intelligence agency has consolidated control over the penal system, leading to a lack of acquittals and increased coordination with judicial authorities.
- External conflict has empowered the regime, enabling it to frame domestic repression as a matter of national security and rally its supporters.