The United Nations human rights chief called for an immediate moratorium on executions in Iran on Friday after the first death sentence linked to January’s mass protests was issued and dozens more people were reported at risk.
“I am horrified by reports that at least eight people, including two children, have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests,” Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Another 30 people appeared to face the same risk, he added.
Amnesty International said last week that at least 30 people connected to the protests face possible execution. Eight of them – Saleh Mohammadi, 18, Mohammad Amin Biglari, 19, Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Amirhossein Hatami, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar – were sentenced to death in February within weeks of their arrests.
At least 22 others, including two 17-year-olds, are awaiting trial or remain in legal proceedings, the rights group said. Amnesty reported that defendants had been subjected to “torture-tainted confessions” and other serious due process violations, including denial of access to lawyers during investigations and rejection of independent counsel chosen by families.
The organization called for an immediate halt to executions and the quashing of protest-related death sentences.
Human rights reports say tens of thousands of people have been detained in recent weeks, with some independent sources estimating the true number of summonses and arrests at close to 100,000 or even higher.
A significant portion of those detained are teenagers, young adults and citizens under the age of 30 – a generation that often has no prior experience of security interrogations or expedited court proceedings.
“I am extremely alarmed about the potential for regional military escalation and its impact on civilians, and I hope the voice of reason prevails,” Turk said in the same address.
