Iran is increasingly using digital and surveillance technology and "state-sponsored vigilantism" to crush dissent after the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022, a UN investigation said Friday.

Tehran is making "concerted state efforts to stifle dissent, perpetuating a climate of fear and systematic impunity", the United Nations' Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said in a new report.

These involve "the increased use of technology and surveillance, including through state-sponsored vigilantism".

Iran was rocked by demonstrations after the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law.

Widespread anger led to weeks of taboo-breaking protests against the country's government under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council created a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown.

The fact-finding mission's chair Sara Hossain told a press conference Friday that........

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