The new Human Rights Watch report has heavily criticized Iran for “widespread and mass arrests” in 2018.

In the report that was published on Thursday, numerous human rights violations by the Islamic Republic authorities have been mentioned.

The report points to the mass uprisings across the country in protest to “deteriorating economic conditions, public perception of corruption, and lack of social and political freedoms,” and criticizes the response from the authorities of the Islamic Republic, which was mainly in form of “mass arbitrary arrests”.

According to the report, officials of the Islamic Republic have restricted peaceful protests by arresting attorneys, human rights and women’s rights advocates.

The report mentions thousands of arrests for “practicing individual freedoms” and criticizes heavy court sentences, unfair, illegal, and flawed trial procedures, especially in the Revolutionary Courts.

The report also refers to the violent suppression of protests and gatherings of different groups like workers or dervishes in cities like Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and the arrest of environmental activists and “Girls of Inqilab Street”. The report also mentions the suspicious death of environmental activist and Iranian-Canadian professor, Kavous Seyed Emami in prison and the refusal of Iranian authorities to allow an independent investigation into his death.

Another issue mentioned and criticized in the report is the arrest of attorneys and human rights lawyers, including Nasrin Sotudeh (for defending a client), Reza Khandan, and Farhad Maisami.

Other cases included and heavily criticized in the report are the execution of several individuals for crimes committed in childhood, arrests of foreign nationals and dual citizens by the revolutionary guard intelligence with vague charges such as “cooperation with enemy states”.