What changed

on systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

P10_TA(2026)0046

B100110/2026

Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

European Parliament resolution on Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

PE782.073

(2026/2312(RSP))

European Parliament resolution of 12 February 2026 on the systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran (2026/2612(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutionresolutions on Iran,

– having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

Whereas since nationwide protests began in late December 2025, a brutal crackdown is unfolding;

A. whereas the Islamic Republic engages in the systematic oppression of its people through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings, the death penalty, sexual violence, collective punishment and inhumane detention conditions;

Whereas, according to many corroborating sources, the repression appears to be deadliest of the 21st century;

B. whereas estimates of the death toll during the recent protests range from several thousand to over 35 000, including women, children and elderly people; whereas EU citizens are among the victims;

Whereas thousands of people arbitrarily detained are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence; whereas many are being denied fair trials and could face long prison sentences or the death penalty; Whereas many are reportedly detained in military barracks or unregistered locations whereas detention without official registration greatly increases the risk of torture and other ill-treatment;

C. whereas tens of thousands of arbitrary arrests have been made, with the true scale underreported; whereas detainees are held without access to lawyers, family or adequate medical care, and are subjected to torture, ill-treatment through sleep deprivation and other abuses, and coerced confessions;

Whereas arrested individuals include citizens, journalists, medical workers, lawyers, and even minors;

D. whereas the documented acts meet the threshold for crimes against humanity;

Whereas Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was recently sentenced to six years in a new sham trial; whereas she was arrested on 12 December alongside other activists after speaking at a ceremony honouring a lawyer found dead; whereas she launched a hunger strike to protest her prolonged illegal detention, deplorable conditions, and denial of contact with her family and lawyers;

E. whereas Iran engages in transnational repression through coercion by proxy, including in the case of Mohammad Amer Dadafarzin, the son of human rights defender Fariba Baloch, who has been held in arbitrary detention and tortured in retaliation for his mother’s human rights work and testimony before the European Parliament;

Whereas in 2025, Iran carried out its highest number of executions in decades;

F. whereas the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plays a central role in the repression, operating with impunity; whereas the EU has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation;

Whereas the regime pursues its shameless use of hostage diplomacy;

1. Expresses solidarity with the Iranian people and reaffirms that they are the sole legitimate source of sovereignty in Iran; supports the Iranian people who seek freedom and the right to live without Islamist coercion;

Expresses once more its heartfelt condolences to the families of all victims;

2. Deplores the regime’s systematic use of arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings and the death penalty as instruments of repression; calls for the immediate abolition of the death penalty;

Calls on Iranian authorities to cease the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters;

3. Calls on the regime to halt all violence against civilians, stop all executions and end the repression; demands the release of all persons in arbitrary detention, including foreign and dual nationals;

Stands with the Iranian people in their legitimate struggle for their right to decide their political future ;

4. Urges the authorities to stop targeting doctors and healthcare workers for treating injured protesters;

Demands to release all political detainees and all those detained for peacefully exercising their human rights, including the right to peaceful assembly;

5. Calls for atrocities to be independently documented by UN bodies and for evidence to be preserved for future prosecutions; stresses the need for accountability through international judicial mechanisms, including for the UN Security Council to refer Iran to the ICC;

Condemns unequivocally the use of arbitrary detention, torture, inhumane prison conditions and disproportionate sentences ;

6. Deplores the regime’s targeting of protesters, activists, journalists, human rights defenders, foreign and dual nationals, women, minorities and communities, including Kurds, Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs, Baha’is and Christians among others; calls for the release of those detained solely for their ethnicity or religious beliefs;

Calls on the Irani authorities to promptly disclose the fate and whereabouts of all individuals who have been forcibly disappeared and grant them access to their lawyers and families;

7. Urges the Council and the Member States to expand targeted sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, against those responsible for the abuses, including IRGC members and political leaders, prosecutors, and prison and security officials, and to enforce the sanctions and prevent circumvention;

Calls for lawyers, international observers and humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross, to be granted unhindered access to all those detained ;

8. Strongly condemns the election of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Vice-Chair of the UN Commission for Social Development and deplores reports that the UN Secretary-General sent a congratulatory message to the regime on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which legitimises a government responsible for mass killings, torture and arbitrary detentions and undermines international accountability;

Firmly condemns the sharp rise in the use of the death penalty; reiterates its strong opposition to the use of the death penalty ; urges to introduce a moratorium as a first step towards the abolition of capital punishment;

9. Condemns the oppression of women and calls for the immediate release of all women in detention, especially Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi;

Urges independent international investigation and monitoring, including through full cooperation with the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran and other relevant United Nations mechanisms, to document violations, collect evidence and enable accountability ;

10. Condemns Iranian authorities’ deliberate use of hostage diplomacy; urges the EU and its Member States to develop a counter-strategy to assist detainees’ families and prevent further hostage-taking;

11. Calls onfor the EU and its Member States to scaleprovide upprotection technicaland humanitarian assistance to people facing a serious risk to life, and financialto support forsolutions secureto digitalrestore accessinternet ;access;

Reminds the importance of free and fair electoral procedures in line with international standards and respectful of the will of the Iranian people;.

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Member States, the UN and the Iranian authorities.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, Member States, and the Irani authorities.