8 August 2018
Following a wave of mass arrests in response to largely peaceful protests across Iran over the past week, Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to release any individual held solely for peacefully taking part in them. The authorities must also conduct a prompt, impartial and independent investigation into the killing of a protester in Karaj, north-west of the capital, Tehran, on 3 August 2018.
Amnesty International is also urging the authorities to protect all detainees from torture and other ill- treatment and to reveal the fate and whereabouts of dozens of detainees whose families have not heard from them since their arrests. Among those detained and at risk of torture and other ill-treatment is human rights defender Nader Afshari, who was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence officials on 1 August 2018 in the city of Karaj, north-west of Tehran, and whose whereabouts are unknown as he is being held in a secret detention facility.
Read the full statement here
