IRAN: UN ELECTION OF THE ISLAMIC REGIME – A BETRAYAL OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN

November 12, 2026

PRESS RELEASE

IRAN: UN ELECTION OF THE ISLAMIC REGIME – A BETRAYAL OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN

CFPPI condemns the election of Iran to a key UN coordinating body while political prisoners face torture, rape and executions.

12 November 2026

The Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) strongly condemns the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to elect the Islamic regime of Iran to the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination, with 144 votes in favour on 11 November 2026.

Are the governments that voted in favour of the Islamic Republic effectively rewarding a regime whose record of systematic human rights violations demands accountability rather than international recognition?

Is the United Nations becoming the “United of dictators and their accomplices”, rather than an organisation representing the rights and aspirations of nations and their people?

How can governments support the election of a regime whose human rights record is well known to the world?

The UN General Assembly’s decision to elect the Islamic Republic of Iran with 144 votes in favour, despite the secret ballot and undisclosed individual voting records, sends a deeply troubling message to the Iranian people. Rather than standing with political prisoners, torture survivors and families of those executed, the UN is lending international legitimacy to a regime responsible for widespread repression, torture and systematic human rights violations.

While governments continue to appease and legitimise the Islamic Republic, thousands of political prisoners and newly detained individuals in Iran face torture, abuse and systematic repression. The international community must end its complicity through appeasement and stand with the Iranian people, not the regime that imprisons, tortures and silences them.

Shiva Mahbobi, CFPPI Spokeswoman, said:

“The UN’s decision to elect the Iranian regime while political prisoners continue to face torture is outrageous and unacceptable. It is a complete insult to the people of Iran, particularly those who lost their lives during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising and the January 2026 massacre. This decision is a betrayal of the victims, their families and all those who continue to fight for freedom and justice. The international community must take action,

The following report presents just one example of the horrific conditions reportedly endured by prisoners in Iran and the severe torture attributed to the Iranian authorities and their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

SUMMARY OF CFPPI REPORT:

THE HORRORS OF DOWLABAD PRISON IN ISFAHAN

Inside the IRGC Intelligence Organisation’s Underground Detention Centre: Secret Detention, Torture and Forced Confessions

A new report by the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI), dated 9 November 2026, exposes deeply disturbing accounts of secret detention, systematic torture and forced confessions at the IRGC Intelligence Organisation’s underground detention facility in Dowlatabad, Isfahan. Based on information and eyewitness accounts received by CFPPI, the report documents methods of physical and psychological torture, including practices known as “Barzakh” (Purgatory) and “Dozakh” (Hell), the coercion of detainees into making false confessions, and the lasting physical and psychological consequences suffered by survivors. It also raises serious concerns about the transfer of detainees to Dastgerd Prison and the use of coerced confessions in state-controlled media.

We urge human rights organisations, international institutions and all those concerned with human rights in Iran to read and share this report. The full report is available in the email attachment and through the links below.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD – STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF IRAN.

Read the full report in attached file or via the following links:

Website: https://wp.me/p9yWrK-eDg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DffQLVEP5bh/?vrfl=MWRsZW40cDZvZzBxNg==

Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)

Website: www.cfppi.org

Media enquiries:

Shiva Mahbobi, Spokeswoman

Email: shiva.mahbobi@gmail.com

Telephone: +44 7572 356661

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Shiva Mahbobi