ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Amnesty International on Wednesday said that Iranian authorities have “waged their deadliest crackdown” on protesters, turning peaceful demonstrations into “mass killings,” as it urged the international community to take urgent diplomatic action amid weeks-long nationwide protest and internet blackout.

“This spiral of bloodshed and impunity must end. Even by the Iranian authorities’ own bleak record of committing gross human rights violations and crimes under international law during successive waves of protests, the severity and scale of killings and repression since 8 January is unprecedented,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

Callamard stressed that the state has “waged their deadliest crackdown,” as the protestors flooded the streets, braving bullets. 

The Iranian authorities have deliberately “turned to mass killings of protesters” who have been demanding “fundamental change and transition from the Islamic Republic system to a new system of government which respects people’s human rights and dignity,” she said.

She called on the international community to “take urgent diplomatic action to protect protesters” from further “massacres and confront the impunity that is driving the state policy of bloodshed.”

Iran’s judiciary chief on Wednesday ordered authorities to “expedite” the cases of protesters detained during weeks-long nationwide demonstrations, whom officials have described as “rioters” and “foreign agents,” with rights monitors warning that some protesters are on the verge of execution. 

The Islamic republic has a long history of labeling protesters as “rioters” and alleging ties to the US and Israel, responding with heavy crackdowns, arrests, and, in some cases, charges that carry the death penalty.

Based on limited information from inside Iran, Erfan Soltani, a citizen arrested during recent protests, has been “sentenced to death in Ghezel Hesar Prison,” with concerns that he is “on the verge of execution” within hours, the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported on Wednesday.

Although following repeated threats by US President Donald Trump against Iranian authorities, that Washington would “take very strong action” if Iran begins hanging protesters this week, Iran's judiciary on Thursday denied Soltani’s execution charges.

The Judiciary’s media center said Soltani was arrested on January 10 during the “riots” and charged with “gathering and colluding against the country's internal security and propaganda activities against the regime,” while confirming his detention location in Karaj, it added, “the death penalty does not exist in the law for such charges,” state broadcaster IRIB reported. 

In his latest remarks Wednesday, Trump said, “We have been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,” noting there is no plan for executions, while adding, “I have been told that, we will find out about it.”

Iran’s judiciary has earlier warned demonstrators and ordered legal action against protestors while noting “no leniency” towards “rioters”, warning that they could face charges often punishable by death under the Islamic Republic’s judicial system. 

Charges include “corruption on Earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), “enmity against God” (moharebeh), and “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi).

Amnesty International urged UN member states to recognize that systemic impunity for crimes committed by security forces during current and past protests has emboldened Iranian authorities, calling for” immediate,” coordinated action to prevent further bloodshed, including special sessions at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council, international justice mechanisms, and a referral to the International Criminal Court.

Nationwide protests in Iran have entered their third week, beginning on December 27 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where business owners and shopkeepers launched strikes and protests over the falling value of the Iranian rial against the US dollar. The unrest later spread to other provinces, with chants increasingly targeting the state. 

Over 2,500 people have reportedly been killed across Iran during the recent protests, Hengaw said on Tuesday, with many others arrested and injured. 

Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown and imposed a weeklong nationwide internet shutdown, continuing their pattern of restricting online platforms during periods of unrest to control the flow of news.