Iranian authorities are deploying drones, facial recognition technology, and mobile applications to monitor and punish women who defy the country’s mandatory hijab laws, the United Nations has warned.

In a damning report, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran revealed that the state is using an extensive digital surveillance apparatus to suppress dissent, particularly targeting women.

The findings detail a pattern of “state-sponsored vigilantism”, where security forces and civilians are encouraged to report non-compliance, leading to arrests, vehicle confiscations, and even corporal punishment.

Iranian authorities are using aerial drones to track women’s compliance with hijab laws in public spaces, including in Tehran and southern provinces, the UN report says. Facial recognition software was also installed at the entrance of Amirkabir University in Tehran to monitor female students, it says.

The UN findings come after it determined last year that Iran’s theocracy was responsible for the “physical violence” that led to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

Witnesses said the 22-year-old Kurd was badly beaten by the morality police during her arrest, but authorities denied she was mistreated and blamed “sudden heart failure” for her death.

Her killing sparked a massive wave of protests that continue today, despite threats of violent arrest and imprisonment.