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UN Human Rights Office Condemns Executions in Iran

Protests in Tehran following the death of Mahsa Amini (File photo: Reuters)
Protests in Tehran following the death of Mahsa Amini (File photo: Reuters)
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UN Human Rights Office Condemns Executions in Iran

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

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Russian Missile Attack Forces Ukraine to Shut Down Power Grid

A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russian Missile Attack Forces Ukraine to Shut Down Power Grid

A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Wednesday launched a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas despite freezing winter weather, officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that it launched a strike on “critically important facilities of gas and energy infrastructure that ensure the functioning of Ukraine’s military industrial complex.” It didn't give the target locations or other details.

The barrage came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry vowed a response to what it said was an attack on Russian soil using multiple Western-supplied missiles.

Kyiv hasn't confirmed that attack, though it said Tuesday that it hit an oil refinery and a fuel storage depot, a chemical plant producing ammunition and two anti-aircraft missile systems, in a missile and drone attack that reached around 1,100 kilometers (almost 700 miles) into Russia.

Long-range attacks have been a feature of the nearly three-year war, where on the front line snaking about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from northeast to southern Ukraine, the armies have been engaged in a war of attrition. Russia has been advancing on the battlefield over the past year, though its progress has been slow and costly.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 43 missiles and 74 drones overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. A total of 30 missiles and 47 drones were shot down, and 27 drones failed to reach their target, it said.

The Russian missiles sought out targets from the Lviv region in western Ukraine near Poland to Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine bordering Russia. The state energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in six regions. It often shuts down production during attacks as a precaution.

“The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainians,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.

Electricity supplies resumed to households in some areas by the middle of the day, but Ukrenergo urged customers to avoid using power-hungry electrical appliances.

Russia has repeatedly tried to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, denying the country heat, electricity and running water in an effort to break the Ukrainian spirit. The attacks have also sought to disrupt Ukraine’s defense manufacturing industry.

Last September, the UN refugee agency reported that Ukraine had lost more than an estimated 60% of its energy generation capacity.

Ukrainian authorities try to rebuild their power generation after the attack, though the barrages have eroded production. Western partners have been helping Ukraine rebuild.

“It is the middle of the winter, and Russia’s goal remains unchanged: our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

He urged Western partners to accelerate the delivery to Ukraine of promised air defense weapons, emphasizing that “promises have been made but not yet fully realized.”