32-Day Internet Shutdown in Iran
According to the Balochistan Human Rights Group, more than 32 days have passed since the start of the widespread shutdown of international internet access in Iran, and citizens in Sistan and Balochistan Province remain in complete digital isolation.
Based on reports from the independent organization NetBlocks, since late Bahman 1404 (February 28, 2026), access to the global internet in Iran has dropped to less than 1% of normal levels, and this nationwide blackout has now entered its fifth week. In Sistan and Balochistan Province, which has a long history of peaceful protests and severe repression, this shutdown has effectively deprived people of all tools for communication, documentation, and information sharing.
Baloch human rights activists warn that this deliberate action by the government not only violates the right to access information and freedom of expression, but also creates conditions for the broader concealment of human rights violations — including the killing of protesters, arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances. With phone communications also heavily restricted, Baloch families are unable to contact relatives abroad, and field reports about the real situation in cities and villages are extremely difficult to transmit.
The Balochistan Human Rights Group emphasizes:
“Internet shutdowns are a tool of collective repression that silence the voices of the people of Balochistan. When there is no connection to the outside world, security forces can commit abuses without witnesses and without international documentation. This is a clear violation of international human rights, particularly the right to life, freedom of expression, and the right to peaceful protest.”
This is considered the longest recorded internet shutdown in modern Iranian history and has had devastating effects on the daily lives of people in Balochistan — from disruption of healthcare and education services to the paralysis of small businesses and the complete breakdown of independent information flow.
The Balochistan Human Rights Group calls on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights organizations to condemn this blackout as a violation of communication freedom and to apply necessary pressure to restore free and independent internet access immediately.
As long as the internet remains cut off, accurate documentation of abuses in Balochistan will be extremely difficult, but we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that the voices of victims are heard globally.
Balochistan Human Rights Group
31 March 2026 (11 Farvardin 1405)
