London, 30 September 2026: More than 37,000 videos and photographs of Iran’s violent crackdown on the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising are now available to international investigators, prosecutors and lawyers, Justice for Iran announced today.
The launch of the Jina Database marks four years since the uprising began. The death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old Kurdish woman, in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” in September 2022 sparked protests that swept the country for months.
The archive, gathered from 31 provinces and 233 cities, documents street protests, strikes and demonstrations at schools and universities, as well as shootings, beatings and other violence by state forces.
“Ordinary people filmed these scenes at enormous personal risk, while the authorities were trying to suppress both the protests and the truth about their response. That evidence must not disappear,” said Shadi Sadr, Executive Director of Justice for Iran.
Built for the courtroom
Each item is stored, wherever possible, with its date, location, the type of violence shown, the weapons used, the security forces involved and its original online source. Copies of the original posts have also been kept, so the evidence survives even when accounts are deleted.
The aim is to protect the chain of custody so the material can stand up in court. Users can search by province, city, date and accompanying text, and filter for footage of violence by state agents.
Cases already under way
Justice for Iran has already put the archive to work. The organisation has verified and used material from it in legal complaints against foreign companies accused of supplying technology used in the repression. Its 2024 report, Waging War on Civilians: Exposing Iran’s Repressive Units and Crimes Against Humanity, drew on open source analysis of the database to identify perpetrators and expose patterns of violence.
Human rights organisations have also asked Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor to open structural investigations into international crimes committed in Iran. If those investigations open, Justice for Iran says it will share relevant evidence with prosecutors.
Survivors, including two women blinded by security forces, have used Argentina’s universal jurisdiction laws to file a criminal complaint against 40 Iranian officials.
“The database helps advocates interested in bringing cases forward have access to evidence to further investigate and hold perpetrators accountable,” said Regina Paulose, International Law Counsel at Justice for Iran.
Crimes against humanity
Over the months that followed, hundreds of people were killed and thousands arrested as the authorities crushed the uprising. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran has found that many of the violations, including murder, torture, rape and other sexual violence, enforced disappearance and persecution, amounted to crimes against humanity.
Such crimes can be prosecuted outside Iran under universal jurisdiction, meaning evidence preserved now could be used in courts in several countries for years to come.
A record for Iran’s future
The archive is built not only for today’s courtrooms but for a future Iran. In countries emerging from authoritarian rule, records of state abuses have become the foundation of truth commissions, transitional justice and institutional reform.
The Jina Database is designed to serve that future too. It could support truth seeking, memorials and museums, historical research and education, ensuring that the story of one of the most significant protest movements in Iran’s modern history outlives the social media platforms where it was first told.
How to apply
Access is open on application to international courts and human rights mechanisms, lawyers and legal organisations, researchers, journalists and eligible NGO staff. Every application is reviewed, with safeguards to protect victims, witnesses and sources.
Apply for access to the Jina Database, here.
Notes to editors
About Justice for Iran: Justice for Iran (JFI) is a human rights organisation working to end impunity for serious human rights violations in Iran through documentation, investigation, legal analysis, strategic litigation and advocacy.
Media enquiries and interview requests: info[@]jfingo.org. Shadi Sadr is available for interview.
