Iranian activist tells BBC how fear of war restarting intensifies trauma of repression

The BBC interview describes Shirin's present life in Tehran: waiting for sounds of aircraft or news about detained friends, living with post-traumatic stress, and a numb left hand. She mentions regime parades and visible displays of strength, fear of summons to interrogation, and the possibility of renewed prison time. She has lost her job and notes limited access to mental health care, with a psychologist visiting only once a week for a 26,000-person population. She expresses a resolve to endure for Iran regardless of personal cost.

A Human Rights Watch report published in April 2026 quotes senior Iranian police commander Ahmadreza Radan, who warned that those who take to the streets will be treated as the enemy rather than as protesters.

The article notes that repression has intensified since the war began in February, marking a new phase of state action against dissent and conflict-related disruptions.

Activists estimate that more than 50,000 people have been arrested since the most recent anti-regime protests in January; many detainees are held incommunicado as repression intensifies, especially after the start of the war.

The article notes that executions occurred of detainees arrested during the January uprising; the detainees were hanged.

In early 2024, secret police confronted Shirin after a phone call with her mother. A man and a young woman blocked her path; the officers demanded she wear a headscarf. A scuffle occurred when the young woman tried to force the headscarf. Shirin was interrogated and released after signing a statement agreeing to public silence for two months under threat of solitary confinement.