UN Rights Chief Says Iran Executed At Least 56 People Since March
Volker Tuerk said he was alarmed by the rise in executions and death sentences in Iran, urging Tehran to halt all executions.
The United Nations human rights chief said Iran has executed at least 56 people since March, calling on Tehran to halt all executions and move towards abolishing the death penalty.
"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 instil fear among the population and suppress dissent," Tuerk said in a statement.
He said more than 100 people face the risk of execution on similar security-related charges, while executions for drug-related offences were also continuing at an "alarming rate".
Tuerk also raised concerns about what he described as failures to uphold fair trial and due process in the cases.
Iranian authorities killed thousands of people during anti-government protests in January, the country's worst domestic unrest in decades.
Rights groups say the government has continued to crack down on opponents during the war, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran since the end of February.
Iran's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian officials have defended the country's judicial processes and the use of capital punishment as consistent with domestic law and necessary for public security.
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