The Issue
Free Iran’s Political Prisoners — Especially Detained Children
During the January 2026 Massacre in Iran (Dey 1404), the Islamic Republic arrested thousands of people. Among those detained are children aged 13 to 18. Children who, instead of being protected, have been subjected to repression, detention, and deprivation of their fundamental rights. These arrests occurred alongside the regime’s massacre of protesters in Dey, and the killings continue. Detainees are subjected to torture and forced confessions, and many face death sentences and long-term imprisonment. Today, in a state of war for which the authorities themselves bear responsibility, prisoners are held in extremely alarming conditions.
The widespread detention of citizens, including political prisoners, protesters, and children during war, is a clear violation of Iran’s international legal obligations. Even in armed conflict, the State must protect the right to life, human dignity, and humane treatment of all detainees. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Iran must treat all persons deprived of liberty with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) also require States to ensure humane detention conditions, access to medical care, and judicial oversight.
Children, as a group entitled to special protection, are subject to heightened legal safeguards. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), detaining persons under 18 is allowed only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate time (Article 37). States must also ensure the child’s health, dignity, and best interests in all circumstances. During armed conflict, States must take all feasible measures to protect and care for children affected by hostilities. Detaining children in unsafe wartime conditions is a direct breach of these binding international obligations.
Multiple reports indicate that, despite the ongoing war, detainees, including children, are being held in conditions that pose serious risks to their lives and well-being. These include damage to prison facilities during hostilities, inadequate access to food, safe water, and medical care, severe restrictions on family contact, forced transfers to undisclosed locations; in some cases, transfers to facilities controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the use of detainees as human shields; and widespread internet disruptions that obstruct public oversight and independent reporting.
The situation of prisoners, particularly detained children, is deeply alarming. Crimes committed in prisons and the continued detention of prisoners during wartime, especially children, constitute grave and inhumane violations. The world must raise its voice against these abuses.
We, the undersigned, call for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and political prisoners, especially detained children. As urgent and immediate measures, we call for transparent reporting on the status of imprisoned children and all detainees; immediate access to medical care; provision of essential needs; regular and immediate communication with families; and the deployment of independent international monitors to inspect detention facilities.
We urge international institutions, human rights organizations, labor unions, civil society bodies, and freedom-loving people worldwide to stand with this humanitarian demand, take action for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners, especially detained children, and mobilize global public opinion to defend the fundamental rights of the people of Iran, particularly children.
Organizational Endorsements | نهادهای حامی:
- Child Rights Activists in Iran (CRAII) — مدافعان حق کودکی در ایران
- Free Them Now — کمپین برای آزادی کارگران زندانی
- Association des Chercheurs Iraniens (ACI) — انجمن پژوهشگران ایران
- Iranian Justice Collective (IJC)
- Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) — کمیته آزادی زندانیان سیاسی در ایران
- Woman Life Freedom Germany e.V — انجمن زن، زندگی، آزادی آلمان
- دیدبان حیات — شبکه درمانگران حقوق بشر در ایران
- Children First — کودکان مقدمند
- Shiwar — شیوار
- United Kurdistan Women — اتحاد زنان کردستان
- Justice-Seeking of Kurdistan — دادخواهان کردستان
- International Committee Against Executions (ICAE) — کمیته بینالمللی علیه اعدام
- No to Taboo, No to Violence Against Women — نه به تابو، نه به خشونت علیه زنان
- Stop Honor Killings Campaign — کمپین توقف قتلهای ناموسی
- Women Revolution Organization — تشکل انقلاب زنانه
- Campaign to Save Political Prisoners and Prisoners Sentenced to Death — کمپین نجات زندانیان سیاسی و محکوم به اعدام
- Woman, Life, Freedom Association Bielefeld — انجمن زن زندگی آزادی بیله فلد
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Amene Asgari-Targhi
Representative of Child Rights Activists in Iran (CRAII)
link of pettition: