Geneva, Aug. 5 (ANI): U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has expressed alarm over the increase in executions and death sentences in Iran since March, saying capital punishment is being used to “instill fear among the population and suppress dissent.”
According to a statement from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges since March 19.
“I am alarmed by the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March, and that capital punishment continues to be used to instill fear among the population and suppress dissent. I urge the authorities to urgently halt all executions and move toward the abolition of the death penalty,” Türk said.
According to the OHCHR, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 individuals in cases linked to protests earlier this year. More than 100 others are reportedly at risk of execution on similar charges.
“Since March 19, 2026, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 individuals in cases linked to protests at the start of the year. Over 100 others are at risk of execution on similar charges,” Türk said.
“Executions for drug-related offenses are also continuing at an alarming rate,” he added.
The U.N. human rights chief also expressed concern over what he described as the persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees in death penalty cases.
“Persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees are deeply troubling. Confessions have allegedly been obtained under torture and other ill-treatment. Several executions have reportedly been carried out in public. Some have reportedly been carried out only weeks after arrest,” he said.
Türk also highlighted a case in which 12 defendants were reportedly sentenced to death following a single three-hour closed-door hearing.
“Twelve defendants were reportedly sentenced to death following a single three-hour closed-door hearing,” he said.
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. Such punishment has no place in our world,” Türk added.
According to CNN, Türk’s remarks come amid concerns from nongovernmental organizations, including the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), that Iranian authorities have intensified executions under the cover of ongoing conflict. The organization operates through members both inside and outside Iran.
Earlier this week, Iran executed two men convicted of spying for Israel after authorities accused them of providing sensitive targeting intelligence to foreign intelligence officers during recent military operations.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the men were identified as Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat. Iranian authorities alleged that they worked for Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, during both the 12-day conflict in June between Tehran and Tel Aviv and the “Ramadan War,” a military conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.
In January, Iran also executed a man identified by state media as Ali Ardestani after he was convicted of spying for Mossad. According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Ardestani passed classified information to Israeli intelligence operatives in exchange for financial compensation reportedly paid in cryptocurrency.
Human rights organizations and U.N. experts have also criticized the absence of human rights protections in the 14-point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed by the United States and Iran on June 17. Activists and rights groups have warned that the omission could allow Tehran to intensify domestic crackdowns and executions.
According to CNN, political prisoner and veteran Iranian reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh issued an open letter from Evin Prison on Monday calling for an immediate halt to the executions of “young protesters.”
Tajzadeh described the executions as “playing with fire” and warned that they “could once again engulf the country in devastating flames.”
“In my view, executions will only widen the divide between the state and society, reduce the prospects for dialogue and peaceful change, and significantly increase the risk of the country descending once again into a cycle of reciprocal violence,” Tajzadeh said. (ANI)
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