Headliners
France
introduced a consent-based definition of rape in its penal code.
A Malawian High Court ruling reaffirmed the rights of sexual violence survivors.
The European
Court of Justice ruled Denmark’s ‘ghetto law’ is potentially unlawful.
Protesters gather to block a street during a demonstration in Tehran on 8 January IRAN Protests met by violent crackdown
The Iranian authorities used excessive and lethal force to supress nationwide protests that broke out on 28 December, according to investigations by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch.
Changes to EU asylum protection marked an
‘unprecedented attack’ on the system of safety.
The Myanmar military bombed a hospital in Rakhine state.
Triggered by anger over a sharp currency collapse, the demonstrations began in the capital Tehran and quickly spread across the country, with protesters calling for fundamental change. Verified video footage, photographs and interviews with eyewitnesses, journalists and medical professionals have revealed the scale of the authorities’ violent response. Security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s police force, used rifles, shotguns, tear gas, water cannon and beatings to disperse and punish largely peaceful protesters.
According to the UN special rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, at least 5,000 people have been killed during the uprising as of 16 January. Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: ‘People in Iran daring to demand fundamental change are once again being met with a deadly pattern of repression.’
8 AMNESTY SPRING 2026
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch’s findings point to a systematic effort to crush further dissent and conceal abuses. Repressive measures have included mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, heavily armed security patrols, night-time raids on homes, curfews, bans on public gatherings and a prolonged internet blackout that has isolated more than 90 million people. Thousands of protesters, including children, journalists, students, lawyers, human rights defenders and members of ethnic and religious minorities, have been detained. Many have been subjected to torture and sexual violence and denied medical care. According to reports, officials have denied responsibility for killings, pressured families to issue false statements on state media and threatened secret burials and reprisals. In some cases, families were forced to falsely claim those killed were members of pro- government forces rather than protesters. Amnesty is urging the Iranian authorities to release all of those detained solely for exercising their rights to peaceful protest and expression, end the use of lethal force and ensure accountability.
REGRESSION
PROGRESS
© Aghasht/Middle East Images/ AFP via Getty Images
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