KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Hundreds of Afghans and members of ethnic and religious minority communities have been detained in Iran in recent days over allegations of spying for Israel, a group of UN experts has said.
In a statement on Friday, the experts, including UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, said Iranian authorities have accused Afghan migrants and minority groups of “espionage” or “collaboration” with Israel following the recent 12-day conflict between the two countries.
According to the UN experts, at least six people have been executed in Iran on espionage charges in recent days, while hundreds of others have been arrested. They also pointed to reports of enforced disappearances and widespread detentions.
Furthermore, the experts expressed concern over a significant increase in the deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran, noting that at least 256,000 were expelled in June alone.
Richard Bennett, sharing the statement on X, expressed concern over reports of incitement to discrimination and violence in Iranian media, where Afghans and minority communities have been labelled as “traitors” and described using dehumanizing language.
In the aftermath of the conflict between Iran and Israel, Iranian state media and officials have accused Afghan migrants of spying for Israel, further escalating hostility, mistreatment, and arrests of Afghans across the country.
The UN experts urged Iran to choose protection over repression and avoid repeating what they described as the “dark patterns” of repression seen in previous post-conflict periods.
They also called on the international community to increase support for Iranian civil society, independent media, and human rights organizations.
