Iran's State TV Broadcasts 'Forced Confessions' Amid Crackdown, Raising Execution Concerns
Iranian state media stands accused of airing a record number of forced televised confessions in the wake of a severe crackdown against dissidents and protesters. The nation has been engulfed by a wave of anti-regime demonstrations since December, with citizens taking to the streets nationwide to protest government policies and rampant inflation.
Mounting Death Toll and Arrests
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the death toll has been climbing for weeks, with more than 7,000 individuals killed in less than two months. Nearly 54,000 arrests have been made, leaving families of protesters in a state of uncertainty and limbo regarding the fate of their loved ones detained by the regime.
Many families have reported no contact with those captured, fueling fears that confessions are being extracted through psychological and physical torture. Human rights campaigners have labeled these broadcast statements as 'forced confessions', alleging they are coerced under duress.
Case of Artist Venus Hosseini-Nejad
One prominent case involves 28-year-old artist Venus Hosseini-Nejad from Kerman. Her family has not heard from her since mid-January, when she was taken away by plain-clothes security personnel. She is reportedly held at a detention center operated by Iran's infamous Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Her family fears she could face execution at any moment if transferred to a prison. On February 1, Iran's state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), aired what appeared to be confessions from Hosseini-Nejad and other youths. The family disputes the authenticity of her confession, claiming it was made under pressure from interrogator Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, who is on the US government's sanctions list.
Hosseini-Nejad managed to inform her family that she confessed under duress after being promised release within three days. Additionally, concerns are mounting over her mental health, as she has bipolar disorder and has been taking medication for 12 years, with fears she is not receiving proper treatment.
Religious Persecution and False Accusations
Negar Manshady, Hosseini-Nejad's distant cousin living in Perth, Australia, insists that accusations of the artist participating in protests are 'completely false'. The cousin alleges the arrest is linked to Hosseini-Nejad's Baha'i faith, a banned religion in Iran despite being the largest non-Muslim minority.
Televised footage typically features individuals confessing to alleged offences such as committing violence against security forces, accepting money from Iran's enemies, or sharing banned social media posts. Campaigners report at least 240 aired false confessions, with one clip showing a man trembling as he admits to 'making a mistake' while being pressed by a shadowy interrogator about security force deaths.
Other Arrests and Coerced Statements
Other individuals swept up in the arrests include Peyvand Naeimi, 30, and Shayan Shakibayi, 29. Naeimi, also a Baha'i, was reportedly taken from his workplace on January 8 without an arrest warrant. In forced confessions, he has been accused of links to 'Zionist networks', 'satanism', 'planning violent acts', and 'organising protests'—allegations his family calls 'completely nonsensical'.
Rozhin Rasekhi, Naeimi's cousin in Canada, revealed that on the 19th day of his detention, he called his parents under extreme pressure and threats of execution. Naeimi stated, 'I am exhausted. I will cooperate with them. I will do whatever they want and say whatever they want. Even if they want to execute me, let them execute me so that I can be relieved.' His family, maintaining his innocence, fears the next steps as he faces charges of assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.
Expert Analysis and International Response
Experts suggest that authorities aim to frighten and humiliate demonstrators to quash dissent. The regime's violent crackdown has drawn international condemnation, with former US President Donald Trump threatening military action against Iran and warning that failure to reach a deal over Iran's nuclear program would be 'very traumatic'.
The situation remains dire, with human rights organizations continuing to monitor the escalating crisis and advocate for the release of unjustly detained protesters.
