Mass protests have broken out in Iran. In the wake of an internet blackout that has hampered the flow of information, state security forces are reported to have killed and or jailed hundreds of demonstrators. Rights groups in Germany are calling for a nationwide moratorium on deportations to the country.
A German human rights organization has called for the immediate suspension of deportations to Iran in the wake of anti-government protests that have rocked Iranian cities in recent days.
Anyone who stands up for freedom in Iran risks their life," said Pro Asyl's managing director, Karl Kopp, the Catholic news agency KNA reported on Wednesday (January 14).
Kopp further added that declining protection rates in Germany are "untenable given this reality" and a moratorium on deportations would be "morally imperative".
The "systematic persecution" in Iran must also be reflected in the protection rate of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Kopp demanded.
Declining protection rates
The latest asylum figures show that in 2024, asylum applications from Iranian nationals in Germany reached 5,817 applications. The government issued 7,914 decisions on Iranian asylum cases, resulting in 2,249 grants of protection status, 3,880 rejections, and 1,785 cases resolved through other means.
Excluding formal decisions, this translates to a protection rate of approximately 37 percent. This constitutes a sharp decline from 2023, when the overall protection rate for Iranian nationals was 45 percent, with 38 percent receiving refugee status.
Following the protests and violent repressions in Iran, several federal states in Germany declared a removal ban for Iran in October 2022. This meant that as of December 2022, no deportations to Iran would take place, with exceptions for serious criminal offenders and persons posing a risk to security. The nationwide removal ban was originally prolonged in the summer of 2023 but was later lifted starting at the beginning of January 2024.
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No moratorium
In light of the most recent developments in Iran, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU party said that a deportation moratorium for Iran would not be carried out.
"We have a strong interest in Germany in deporting criminals," Dobrindt said in Parliament on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate halted all deportations to Iran with immediate effect. The suspension is set to initially be in place for three months, but it can be extended.
"Anyone currently being sent back to Iran would face a real danger to their freedom and life. Rhineland-Palatinate stands for the protection of human dignity. That is why we are suspending deportations. "We bear a humanitarian responsibility and protect the people living here," said Integration Minister Katharina Binz (Greens), as reported by KNA.
Human rights and refugee organizations are calling for a nationwide moratorium on deportations.
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Mass protests
A sharp currency collapse and soaring inflation triggered mass protests in Iran on December 28, 2025. A wave of protests across the nation called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic system. The authorities reportedly responded with violent dispersals and mass arrests. Hundreds are reported to have been killed, with hundreds more arbitrarily detained.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch jointly condemned the brutal crackdown on protesters in Iran. The two organizations interviewed 26 people, who included protesters and medical staff, and analyzed videos that were published online. Additionally, Amnesty International worked with an independent pathologist to review images of protesters injured or killed.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International spoke to 26 people, including protesters, eyewitnesses, human rights defenders, journalists, and a medical professional, reviewed official statements, and analyzed dozens of verified videos published online or shared with the organizations. An independent pathologist consulted by Amnesty International reviewed images of protesters injured or killed.
"The frequency and persistence with which the Iranian security forces have unlawfully used force, including lethal force, against protesters, combined with systematic impunity for members of the security forces who commit grave violations, indicate that the use of such weapons to crush protests remains entrenched as state policy," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch said in a statement.