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🔴 Breaking ❓ Unknown

Secret Detention Centers and Systematic Torture of Protesters

Jun 24, 2026 June 24, 2026 10 min read 📰 Iran Human Rights Monitor
📋 Key Takeaway

Reports from Amol Prison reveal severe human rights abuses, including subhuman conditions and systematic torture, for protesters detained during the January 2026 demonstrations. Detainees are denied family contact and legal counsel, facing risks of physical torture, medical neglect, and death. The article criticizes the international community's inaction and the US-Iran diplomatic talks for overlooking human rights.

🔍 Quick Context Guide
💡 Bottom Line: The Iranian government's actions against protesters reveal systemic human rights abuses.

👥 Key Players

Mai Sato QUOTED
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran
"They strictly warned that any final agreement between the US and Iran that overlooks human rights..."
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ACTOR
Repressive apparatus
"These black sites are directly operated by repressive apparatuses, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence."
Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) ACTOR
Repressive apparatus
"These black sites are directly operated by repressive apparatuses, including the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS)."
Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA) ACTOR
Repressive apparatus
"These black sites are directly operated by repressive apparatuses, including the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA)."
Iranian government ACTOR
Government of Iran
"A critical issue—the severe human rights situation and the ongoing human rights violations in Iran—has been sidelined."

⚡ Actions

Iranian government ARREST protesters
"Detainees suffer from an absolute deprivation of contact with their families."
Confidence: 90%
Iranian government CRACKDOWN protesters
"Highly reliable reports recently obtained from inside Iran pull back the curtain on the Islamic Republic’s secret and underground detention centers."
Confidence: 90%
United States NEGOTIATE Iran
"A deal that serves geopolitical interests while leaving the Iranian people behind is not a peace agreement worthy of the name."
Confidence: 80%

📰 What Happened

Iran operates secret detention centers and tortures protesters amid global human rights concerns.

  • Iranian government arrest protesters
  • Iranian government crackdown protesters
  • United States negotiate Iran

💡 Why It Matters

🇮🇷 For Iran: Because the severe human rights situation undermines the legitimacy of the Iranian government.
🌍 Regional: Because it raises concerns about stability and governance in the region.
🌐 International: Because it highlights the need for human rights considerations in international negotiations.

📚 Background

The Iranian government's actions against protesters reveal systemic human rights abuses.

📝 Key Evidence

"A deal that serves geopolitical interests while leaving the Iranian people behind is not a peace agreement worthy of the name."
→ This proves the need for human rights to be central in negotiations.
📡 Source: INDEPENDENT
📊 Confidence: 90%
The source provides detailed accounts of human rights abuses in Iran.

HomeLatest NewsArrestsArbitrary MurdersChildrenDeath SentencePrisonsPolitical prisonersRight to Peaceful ProtestReligious and Ethnic MinoritiesTortureUprisings1988 massacreExecutionsNo to Execution TuesdaysWomenPolitical prisonersPublic executionMass executionPublicationsReportsDocumentsMonthliesInfographicsInternational ReactionsUNHRC ResolutionsUN Special Rapporteur on Iran ReportsUN Fact Finding Mission on IranUN Expert StatementsEuropean ParliamentAmnesty InternationalCampaignsNo to Execution Tuesdays StatementFallen for FreedomIran’s Escalating Political Executions 2026January 2026 Iran Nationwide UprisingNovember 2019 ProtestsIran Protests1988 Massacre VictimsAbout Usفارسی No Result View All ResultHomeLatest NewsArrestsArbitrary MurdersChildrenDeath SentencePrisonsPolitical prisonersRight to Peaceful ProtestReligious and Ethnic MinoritiesTortureUprisings1988 massacreExecutionsNo to Execution TuesdaysWomenPolitical prisonersPublic executionMass executionPublicationsReportsDocumentsMonthliesInfographicsInternational ReactionsUNHRC ResolutionsUN Special Rapporteur on Iran ReportsUN Fact Finding Mission on IranUN Expert StatementsEuropean ParliamentAmnesty InternationalCampaignsNo to Execution Tuesdays StatementFallen for FreedomIran’s Escalating Political Executions 2026January 2026 Iran Nationwide UprisingNovember 2019 ProtestsIran Protests1988 Massacre VictimsAbout Usفارسی No Result View All Result No Result View All Result Home LATEST NEWS Political prisoners Secret Detention Centers and Systematic Torture of ProtestersGlobal Neglect of Human Rights Violations in Iran Amid Diplomatic Talks June 23, 2026 FacebookTwitterEmail While global attention remains heavily focused on the political and diplomatic negotiations between Iran and the United States, a critical issue—the severe human rights situation and the ongoing human rights violations in Iran—has been sidelined due to the inaction of the international community.

Madam Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with a group of independent UN experts, accurately highlighted this crisis. They strictly warned that any final agreement between the US and Iran that overlooks human rights and the fundamental demands of the Iranian people cannot establish a sustainable peace. Accountability, justice, and comprehensive support for victims must be placed at the very center of any negotiations. “A deal that serves geopolitical interests while leaving the Iranian people behind is not a peace agreement worthy of the name,” the experts warned. The experts cautioned that the end of hostilities must not be mistaken for the restoration of rights. “For the Iranian people, that work is yet to begin.”

A matter of profound and continuous concern is the status of those detained during the nationwide protests of January 2026 (Dey 1404). Highly reliable reports recently obtained from inside Iran pull back the curtain on the Islamic Republic’s secret and underground detention centers, where detained protesters are still being held. One of the most acute cases involves clandestine detention facilities run by the regime in the city of Fuman, located in the Gilan Province of northern Iran.

International bodies are well aware that a significant portion of the detention centers utilized by security agencies in Iran do not fall under the official jurisdiction or supervision of the State Prisons Organization. Over the past four decades, many political, civil, and protest detainees have spent parts of their detention inside facilities managed entirely outside public scrutiny and far from media visibility. These black sites are directly operated by repressive apparatuses, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence, the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS), and the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA).

Being detained in such locations is equivalent to enforced disappearance in the vast majority of cases. Detainees suffer from an absolute deprivation of contact with their families, a total denial of access to legal counsel, and crucially, the complete impossibility of international inspection or monitoring (even if the United Nations possesses the will to do so). Based on precise reports received, at least three parallel security centers are actively involved in the unlawful detention, interrogation, and holding of political prisoners in Fuman and its surrounding areas:

Due to the hidden nature of these detention centers and the absolute denial of access for families and lawyers, there is virtually no reliable information regarding the health and well-being of the detained protesters in these sites. Consequently, their lives are in immediate peril, facing extreme risks of horrific physical torture, systemic medical neglect, and even death under torture—outcomes that are tragically common throughout the history of Iranian prisons.

Fresh reports emerging from Amol Prison present a shocking and deeply concerning illustration of human rights violations in Iran, specifically regarding the conditions of those detained during the nationwide protests of January 2026 (Dey 1404). Dozens of detainees from the cities of Amol, Nour, Chamestan, and Lavij have been held for months under highly unsuitable and subhuman conditions, initially in the quarantine ward and subsequently in the special ward of this facility.

Informed sources have reported severe overcrowding, total deprivation of telephone communication rights, extreme restrictions on access to basic welfare amenities, and deliberate negligence regarding the medical care of prisoners.

According to these accounts, approximately 150 individuals from various cities across the Mazandaran Province are confined within the quarantine ward of this prison. These sources have documented that all communication paths linking the quarantine ward to other sections of the prison have been entirely blocked. Access to this ward is under strict security control; reportedly, only the prison warden is permitted to enter, while other staff members are granted highly restricted access.

During a period when more than one hundred individuals were confined to this section, prison guards routinely disrupted the inmates’ sleep and rest during the night hours by continuously striking cell doors with batons and metallic objects. This psychological torture is deliberately systematically applied to induce anxiety, shatter mental stability, and strip the prisoners of their self-control.

At present, while a small number of detainees have been released on bail or heavy bonds, approximately 30 individuals have been transferred to the prison’s “Special Ward”—a facility where conditions are far more militarized and oppressive than the quarantine section. The prisoners held in this ward are entirely deprived of telephone calls with their families, are denied access to the prison commissary, and have even been stripped of their legal right to fresh air (outdoor exercise). This absolute deprivation has left destructive and irreversible impacts on the physical and psychological health of these individuals.

One of the most critical concerns raised regarding Amol Prison is the systematic denial of medical attention to prisoners. According to verified reports, one of the detainees suffered a fractured nose due to severe beatings while being held at an IRGC Intelligence detention center. In protest of his detention conditions and the absolute lack of medical care for his physical injuries, this prisoner embarked on a three-day dry hunger strike (refusing both food and water); however, according to informed sources, he received no effective response or intervention from the authorities.

This calculated medical neglect has previously resulted in fatalities. In mid-May 2026 (Ordibehesht 1405), an inmate identified as “Taghi Salimi” suffered a cardiac arrest and lost his life within Amol Prison. Prior to his passing, he was completely denied access to medical services or a physician, and no effective measures were taken to urgently transfer him to medical facilities outside the prison walls.

The brutal raid by Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) forces on the “Qaleh Chanan” region of Ahvaz on March 9, 2026 (18 Esfand 1404) escalated into one of the bloodiest security operations of recent months in Khuzestan Province. During this operation, at least two local residents, identified as Mahmoud Hasnian (Naseri), son of Mohammad, and Heidar Khayatipour, were killed by direct live fire from security agents, while 14 others were arrested.

More than 100 days after this bloody event, the detainees continue to be held in solitary confinement cells within the Intelligence Department’s detention center, and their families remain in absolute ignorance regarding the health and well-being of their loved ones. Concurrently, reports indicate that the cases of these citizens have been coupled with heavy, fabricated, and ambiguous charges, without the public presentation of any independent evidence whatsoever. As of the compilation of this report, even the bodies of the two deceased individuals (Mahmoud Hasnian and Heidar Khayatipour) have not been returned to their families, a matter that has raised anxiety concerning the situation of the remaining detainees and victims to its peak.

The identities of several of these detainees have been verified as follows:

Over the past months, the families of these detainees have been repeatedly summoned, threatened, and placed under intense pressure by security agencies to prevent them from disseminating information. The cases of these citizens are being processed in the Second Branch of the Public and Revolutionary Court of Karun County, presided over by Judge Montazeri, where they face a series of dangerous state-security charges. These charges are cited as “shooting at security forces,” “bombing oil pipelines,” “possession of handmade bombs,” “collaboration with the United States and Israel,” and “disrupting public order.” Nonetheless, no independent document, proof, or evidence corroborating these severe allegations has been publicly released to date.

The facts of human rights violations in Iran documented above constitute clear, systematic, and gross violations of international law and binding treaties to which the Iranian government is inherently committed:

One could continuously document such fundamental facts of human rights violations in Iran against ordinary citizens and political prisoners. However, the foundational and vital question remains: when will the international community cast aside its deadly silence and inaction regarding these atrocities?

If the images of more than 30,000 body bags containing victims in January 2026—an event that sparked a wave of global outrage and revulsion—failed to compel free nations and human rights proponents to take practical, urgent, and deterrent action against human rights violations in Iran, can the exposure of these secret black sites and organized torture shake the world’s conscience? Or will eyes once again be closed to these bitter truths due to economic interests and diplomatic maneuvers?

Today, the international community faces a historical test. Overlooking the arbitrary detention of 50,000 protesters and surrendering them into the hands of torturers in unofficial detention centers strips international laws and standards of all meaning. This passive approach grants any dictatorship a completely free hand to suppress, torture, and massacre its citizens. Silence in the face of the Islamic Republic’s machinery of repression is not only a betrayal of humanitarian values but will also lead to the spread of unbridled fundamentalism, allowing it to spill over the borders of these very nations claiming to defend human rights. The era of diplomatic expressions of regret and issuing statements that result in no practical or deterrent action regarding human rights violations in Iran has passed. The time for practical action, holding the Iranian regime accountable, and bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice is today.

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Iran Human Rights Monitor website is dedicated to support the Iranian people’s struggle for human rights and amplifies their voices on the international stage. Its purpose is to cover executions, arbitrary arrests, torture and amputation, prison’s conditions, women, social, ethnic and religious minorities oppression news in Iran and fill the gaps in information and knowledge caused by lack of access and freedom to Iran. The information provided by Iran Human Rights Monitor are in collaboration with the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran)

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Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →

Translation confidence: 100%

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