GENEVA
\nUN rights chief Volker Turk said Wednesday he was \u201calarmed\u201d by the surge in executions in Iran since March, with the death penalty being used by Tehran to \u201cinstil fear.\u201d \u201cSince 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,\u201d Turk said in a statement.
\n\u201cOver 100 others are at risk of execution on similar charges. Executions for drug-related offenses are also continuing at an alarming rate.\u201d On March 19, Iran executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favor of the United States and Israel \u2014 the first officially announced executions relating to the nationwide anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.
\n\u201cI 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,\u201d said Turk. \u201cPersistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees are deeply troubling. Confessions have allegedly been obtained under torture and other ill-treatment,\u201d he said.
\nSeveral executions have reportedly been carried out in public, with some reportedly conducted only weeks after arrest, said Turk. \u201cTwelve defendants were reportedly sentenced to death following a single three-hour closed-door hearing,\u201d he added. In late December, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations.
\nIranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, but attributed the violence to \u201cterrorist acts\u201d orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Rights groups based abroad put the toll higher and accused the security forces of firing at demonstrators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA UN rights chief Volker Turk said Wednesday he was \u201calarmed\u201d by the surge in executions in Iran since March, with the death penalty being used by Tehran to \u201cinstil fear.\u201d \u201cSince March 19, 2026, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 individuals in cases linked to protests at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n