UN: Iran's executions are state-sanctioned killings

ARK News… UN Human Rights Commissioner: Trials in Iran amount to enforced deprivation of life

The UN human rights official said the Iranian government uses the death penalty as a weapon to spread fear among citizens and eliminate dissent, adding that the executions amount to "state-sanctioned killings".

A weapon to punish the people

"Turning criminal proceedings into a weapon to punish people for exercising their basic rights, such as those who participated in or organized demonstrations, amounts to state-sanctioned killing," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement, explaining that the executions violated international human rights law.

Iran hanged two men on Saturday for killing security personnel during the nationwide protests, and others have been sentenced to death since then.

A new wave of executions

The statement said that the United Nations Human Rights Office had received information about the imminent execution of two other people.

The two men who were executed, today, Saturday, were convicted of killing a member of the Basij force, and three others were sentenced to death in the same case, while 11 others were sentenced to prison terms.

About 100 face execution

Tehran is waging a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations taking place in Iran, and about 100 people are facing execution in connection with the protest movements, according to human rights organizations and networks.

Hundreds died on the sidelines of the protests. The authorities also arrested thousands of people who participated in the movements, which included raising slogans against them.

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