A group of over 680 lawyers and senior law professors as well as activists from more than 20 countries urged immediate UN action to stop the violent suppression of Iran’s protesters. 

In a letter to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Sunday, they called for measures to end widespread human rights violation by the Islamic Republic’s authorities, asking the body to urgently form an independent committee and call for a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to create a UN investigative and accountability mechanism on Iran government and religious authorities.

In addition to prominent activists, the signatories are law professionals, academicians, and attorneys from countries including Iran, Netherlands, Canada, US, UK, Israel, France, Denmark, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and Australia. 

They said their letter is also aimed at raising awareness and sensitizing law professionals across the globe about what is going on in Iran, urging them to break their silence.

The law professionals also asked the UN to document human rights violation cases committed by the Islamic regime of Iran during the past few weeks, since the current wave of antigovernment protests started following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. “Documentation is very important because it helps us identify patterns of violations and demand accountability of the perpetrators for systematic and premeditated abuses against peaceful protests.”