UN Human Rights Office Condemns Executions in Iran

Protests in Tehran following the death of Mahsa Amini (File photo: Reuters)

The United Nations condemned on Thursday the Iranian authorities' execution of a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old young man, urging Tehran to stop implementing the death penalty.
The UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson, Liz Throssell, said the execution of Hamidreza Azari, who was accused of murder, is the first reported execution of an alleged child offender in Iran this year.
Throssell reminded Iranian authorities of their obligation, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to prohibit death sentences and their implementation for crimes committed by individuals below the age of 18.
She also denounced the execution of 22-year-old Milad Zohrevan on the same day, the eighth person executed as part of the September 2022 protests.
The spokeswoman continued that the "available information indicates that his trial lacked the basic requirements for due process under international human rights law. There are also troubling reports that Zohrevand's parents were arrested following his execution."
The September 2022 protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, who was arrested by the morality police in Tehran.
The campaign to suppress the demonstrations left hundreds dead and led to the arrest of thousands of people, according to human rights organizations.
"Iran is one of the countries with the highest death penalty figures, particularly for drug-related offenses. Minorities also continue to be disproportionately sentenced to death," Throssell said.
"We urge the Iranian Government to immediately halt the application of the death penalty and establish a moratorium on its use."
She said that until then, the death penalty may only be imposed for the most serious crimes, which refers to crimes of extreme gravity that result intentionally and directly in death.
The UN Official concluded: "We also call on the Government to stop using criminal procedures to punish political activists and others for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly."