SWITZERLAND - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that there is an increase in the use of the death penalty in Iran and stated that this practice must be stopped immediately.
The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that 54 people were executed in the last year in the protests that started in 2022 after the murder of Jîna Êmînî in Tehran, Iran. In his statement on the subject, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that Mohammed Ghobadlou was executed yesterday in connection with the protests and that Kurd citizen Farhad Salimi, who was also imprisoned for 14 years, was also executed.
'STATES TAKEN UNDER PRESSURE CANNOT BE USED IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS'
Türk emphasized that the right to a fair trial should be protected for all defendants and stated that they were deeply disturbed by the reports they received about statements being taken under pressure. Türk stated that such confessions will not be used as evidence in any judicial process.
Calling on the Iranian government to completely abolish the death penalty, Türk said that there is a growing consensus for the abolition of the death penalty globally. Türk stated that approximately two-thirds of the world's countries have already abolished the death penalty or imposed a moratorium in law or practice, and called on the Iranian authorities to take steps in this direction.