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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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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

India's navy on Wednesday simultaneously launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate built at a state-run shipyard, underscoring the importance of protecting the Indian Ocean region through which 95% of the country's trade moves amid a strong Chinese presence.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a center of international power rivalry.

“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” he said.

“The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realizing India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defense manufacturing and maritime security,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai.

The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst.

Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French license-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.

The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Bedi said.

India’s defense ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.

India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.