Feb. 15 – Anti-government protests flared up in Iran this week, with many of the demonstrations being led by young people inside the country.
Videos circulating on social media showed protests taking place across several provinces in Iran, with protesters shouting “Death to the Islamic Republic” and “Death to Khamenei,” amid violent clashes with security forces.
Several social media users also said that there had been disruptions to the internet and road closures in the areas affected by the demonstrations.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the death of the German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd in 2024 while in prison violated international law, and called on Iran to return his body to his family without delay.
Sharmahd was sentenced to death after he was accused of engaging with violent opposition groups in Iran, a claim which his family have denied.
The UN experts said Sharmahd’s abduction from Dubai, and his illegal transfer from one state to another rendered his detention “devoid of any legal basis.”
And two British nationals have been arrested and placed in custody in Iran‘s Kerman city on security-related charges, according to reports by state media.
The man and woman, who have not yet been identified, were seen in blurred photos released by Iran‘s official news agency.
Iran has been routinely accused by human rights watchdogs and several western states of arbitrarily detaining foreign nationals for leverage in diplomatic negotiations.
