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UN PhotoOHCHR / IRAN EXECUTIONS DEATH SENTENCES
STORY: OHCHR / IRAN EXECUTIONS DEATH SENTENCES
TRT: 01:42
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 AUGUST 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Various shots, exterior, Palais Wilson
5 AUGUST 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR): “The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights expresses alarm at the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March. Capital punishment continues to be used to instill fear among the population and suppress dissent. We urge the authorities to immediately halt all executions and move towards the abolition of the death penalty. Since the 19th of March of this year, 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. Over 100 others are at risk of execution on similar charges. Executions for drug-related offences are also continuing at an alarming rate. Persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees are deeply troubling. Confessions have allegedly been obtained under torture and other ill-treatment. Several executions have reportedly been carried out in public. Some have reportedly been carried out only weeks after arrest. Twelve defendants were reportedly sentenced to death following a single three-hour closed-door hearing. The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. Such punishment has no place in our world.”
FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Various shots, exterior, Palais Wilson
“The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expresses alarm at the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March. Capital punishment continues to be used to instill fear among the population and suppress dissent,” a UN human rights spokesperson said.
Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office Jeremy Laurence today (5 Aug) urged the authorities to “immediately halt all executions and move towards the abolition of the death penalty.”
He said, “since the 19th of March of this year, 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. Over 100 others are at risk of execution on similar charges. Executions for drug-related offences are also continuing at an alarming rate.”
The Spokesperson added, “persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees are deeply troubling. Confessions have allegedly been obtained under torture and other ill-treatment. Several executions have reportedly been carried out in public. Some have reportedly been carried out only weeks after arrest. Twelve defendants were reportedly sentenced to death following a single three-hour closed-door hearing.”
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. Such punishment has no place in our world,” Laurence reiterated.
