Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown has now entered its second week, with no clear timeline in sight. Reports indicate that not only mobile internet but also satellite connections and satellite dishes of all forms, including Starlink, are being targeted, marking a new and intensified phase of digital repression affecting the general population of Iran.
Due to the nationwide internet shutdown, no reliable or comprehensive casualty figures are currently available. However, emerging reports and video evidence suggest that the death toll may exceed several hundred, though these figures cannot yet be independently verified.
While the internet blackout affects the entire Iranian population, the situation can be particularly dire for marginalized communities such as LGBTQI+, for whom online spaces are often the only means of access to information, community, and basic support. Prolonged shutdown of the internet can further deepen isolation and increase vulnerability to violence, abuse, and push forced invisibility on already vulnerable communities across the country.
As HOMA has previously documented, in Iran, the internet is often the only space where they can access accurate information about their orientation and identity, seek psychological support, connect with their peers, and express themselves, especially being used in anonymity. Each additional day of shutdown directly worsens living conditions for this community and increases long-term social and psychological harm.
HOMA is deeply concerned that in the current context of widespread and largely peaceful protests, the combination of internet shutdown, arbitrary arrests, and lethal force creates conditions in which violations can occur without documentation or accountability.
Given the escalation of violence and the continued nationwide internet shutdown, HOMA urges urgent international action, including:
• The immediate restoration of full internet access across the country
• put an end to the use of lethal and excessive force against its civilians
• put an end to arbitrary arrests and the targeting of protesters, including children
• Urgent consideration of the situation by the UN Human Rights Council and relevant UN mechanisms, including the Security Council
• Continued international monitoring and documentation to ensure accountability for serious human rights violations.
What is unfolding in Iran now goes beyond digital repression and constitutes a grave threat to life, dignity, and fundamental human rights. Continued internet shutdowns and state violence must not be allowed to proceed in silence.
Homa 