Political repression in Iran

The Bureau for Intelligence and Security of the State (), shortened to SAVAK () or S.A.V.A.K. (), was the secret police of the Imperial State of Iran. It was established in Tehran in 1957 by national security law, and continued to operate until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when it was dissolved by Iranian prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar.

Since the beginning of the 2025–26 Iranian protests, the Iranian government has perpetrated widespread massacres of civilians, deploying both its own security forces and importing foreign militias to suppress public dissent nationwide. As of 25 January 2026, the total death toll estimates ranged from 6,488 people to upwards of ~36,500 people, including 209 government-affiliated military and non-military personnel, making these among the largest massacres in the modern history of Iran.

state-sponsored mass executions of political prisoners in Iran

killing of an Iranian woman by Basij paramilitary forces

death of a protester during 2022 protests in Iran

Wikimedia list article

aspect in a geographic region

Iranian child who was killed in Iran's nationwide protests of 2022

Iranian blogger who died in custody of the Iranian Cyber Police unit

executioner (1885–1944)

Member of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran (1990–2010)

Member of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran

detention center in Iran

Iranian Baloch protester killed by security forces in 2022; became a symbol of protest