Statement of Grave Concern: The Ceasefire Must Not Become a License for Repression in Iran

Written by ACI in 24 June 25

As the guns fall silent in the region, a deeper and quieter violence threatens to escalate within Iran.

Even as ceasefire announcements are made, for the Iranian people, the danger is far from over. There is growing concern that the Islamic Republic will use this moment not to de-escalate repression but to reassert control – spinning the ceasefire as a victory and seizing the opportunity to further crush dissent.

While regional leaders and global powers – whether in Tehran, Tel Aviv, or Washington – have too often pursued war with reckless disregard for human lives, it is the Iranian people who now face a dangerous intensification of repression under the cover of ceasefire.

We have already witnessed signs of a new crackdown. The internet remains cut off across much of the country, isolating citizens from the outside world. The systematic and ongoing disruption of internet services constitutes a violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a signatory. This blackout intentionally creates an information vacuum to conceal state actions.

Behind this digital silence, reports continue to surface of mass arrests, disappearances, and accelerated executions under vague “national security” charges. These actions violate due process standards (ICCPR, Article 14) and create a climate of terror in an already volatile situation.

With no free domestic press and almost no foreign press permitted, Iran is operating in complete opacity – under emergency rule, without scrutiny, and without accountability.

We issue this statement out of urgent concern for the lives and safety of Iranians – particularly civil society actors, political prisoners, and members of marginalised communities – who are at even greater risk in the post-ceasefire environment.

While the full terms of the ceasefire remain unclear, we must raise a red flag: any unconditional sanctions relief – especially relating to Iran’s nuclear programme – without enforceable commitments to the observance of human rights and civil liberties pose a grave moral and strategic hazard.

It will directly finance and embolden the very security apparatus – the IRGC and Basij – responsible for systematic rights violations. The structural weaknesses exposed since the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising risk being erased in the name of geopolitical reconciliation and appeasement.

Any negotiation that strengthens the regime without demanding accountability only emboldens state violence.

We call on the international community – particularly the United nations, United States and the EU – to:

1. Demand the immediate restoration of internet access and freedom of communication for the Iranian people;
2. Insist on access for independent monitors to places of detention, and an end to unscheduled executions and emergency legal proceedings;
3. Ensure no sanctions relief or diplomatic normalisation proceeds without parallel, enforceable benchmarks for civil liberties, including the release of political prisoners and an end to gender-based persecution;
4. Support Iranian civil society, particularly journalists, lawyers, and women’s rights defenders, through technical, financial, and political assistance.

This is a pivotal moment. The Iranian people’s struggle for fundamental freedoms must not be sacrificed for the illusion of regional stability.

The world must not mistake an imposed, fearful silence for genuine peace.