1 woman among anti-govt protest death penalty, says UN rights official

A United Nations official said on Tuesday that a woman is among the 17 people reportedly facing execution in Iran for taking part in anti-government protests.

Middle Eastern region human rights officer Mohammad Alnsour said in Geneva that two executions are imminent adding that so far, four participants in demonstrations have been executed.

Alnsour said the most recent were two young men on Jan. 7 who had been accused of killing a security guard.

The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, appealed to the government in Tehran to suspend the executions.

According to Türk, the charge against the accused was vague and the minimum guarantees for fair trials are not respected.

He said the alleged confessions were extracted through torture.

“The weaponization of criminal procedures to punish people for exercising their basic rights – such as those participating in or organizing demonstrations amounts to state sanctioned killing,” Türk said.

The nationwide protests against the repressive course of the government and the Islamic system of rule in Tehran were triggered by the death of the Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in September.

She died in police custody after being arrested for violating Islamic dress codes.