UN experts tell Iran to stop executions and address root causes of crime

• UN experts accuse Iran of using executions to “silence dissent” and call for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.
• The experts urge Tehran to commute death sentences and review cases amid concerns over unfair trials and a rise in executions following January’s antigovernment protests.

UN human rights experts have called on Iran to immediately halt executions, accusing the government of using the death penalty to “silence dissent” and warning of serious violations of defendants’ rights.

In a news release, the experts said they had reviewed cases “riddled with procedural unfairness and underlying gross human rights violations,” raising concerns about the fairness of judicial proceedings and the use of capital punishment.

“While attention focuses on security cases, most executions in Iran are for homicide, under qisas (retribution-in-kind), and for drug-related offences,” the experts said.

They criticized the use of executions as a response to violent crime and drug trafficking, arguing that it fails to address the underlying social and economic factors contributing to both.

“Such executions are an easy substitute for the harder work of confronting the main drivers of homicides and the drug trade, including poverty, discrimination and gender-based violence,” the experts added.

The UN experts concluded that Iran has the world’s highest execution rate per capita, highlighting concerns over the scale of capital punishment in the country.

The call comes amid reports of a wave of executions since January’s nationwide antigovernment protests, which were met with a government crackdown.

Iranian authorities said at least 3,117 people were killed during the unrest. Estimates from outside sources have placed the death toll significantly higher, with some exceeding the official figure by more than tenfold.

The differing figures reflect the difficulty of independently establishing the full scale of the deaths during the protests and subsequent crackdown.

The experts urged Tehran to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions as a first step toward abolishing the death penalty.

They also called on Iranian authorities to commute all existing death sentences and review every case to ensure defendants receive fair trials.

Their recommendations focus on preventing further executions, addressing alleged procedural violations and ensuring that judicial proceedings comply with international human rights standards.

The experts stressed that capital punishment raises particular concerns when defendants are denied fair-trial guarantees or when cases involve alleged human rights violations.

Iran has continued to face international scrutiny over its use of the death penalty, particularly in cases involving drug-related offences, homicide and individuals accused of security-related crimes.