UN Official Says Iran’s Human Right Situation “Deteriorating”

In a statement issued on June 21, Nada Al-Nashif, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed grave concern over Iran's deteriorating human rights situation.

Al-Nashif highlighted the limited engagement and implementation of recommendations from international human rights mechanisms by the Islamic Republic's authorities.

"The overall human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran has markedly deteriorated against the backdrop of continuously worsening socio-economic conditions, aggravated by sanctions and the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Al-Nashif said on June 21.

According to Al-Nashif, the UN’s the Human Rights Council has been presented with a report by Secretary-General António Guterres on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic, covering the period from 1 August 2022 to 15 April 2023.

"There was a substantial increase in arbitrary detentions of protesters, activists, human rights defenders, and lawyers," Al-Nashif said.

"Civic and democratic space continued to be restricted in the country. Security forces used disproportionate force in some instances in the context of demonstrations as well as large-scale security operations leading to death and injury of protestors, raising concerns of unlawful killings. Arbitrary detention of protestors, activists, human rights defenders, and lawyers significantly increased during the reporting period," she added.

The High Commissioner’s statement underscored the dire conditions prevailing in Iran's prisons, specifically addressing the lack of attention from judicial authorities and prison officials towards the health and well-being of political and ideological prisoners. 

Several IranWire investigations have unveiled harrowing details of torture, physical abuse, and sexual assault inflicted upon detained protesters, both male and female, in Iran's detention centers and prisons.

Narges Mohammadi, a prominent human rights activist incarcerated in Evin Prison, had previously reached out to the United Nations, shedding light on the chaotic state of the women's prison within Evin and emphasizing the urgent need for medical care and treatment for several female inmates.

Al-Nashif also expressed grave concern over the significant increase in executions in Iran. 

"In 2022, 582 people were executed, that is a 75 per cent increase compared to 2021, during which 333 people were reportedly executed. There were three children among those executed in 2022. Of the total number of executions, 256 were for drug-related offences," she said. 

"The numbers of those executed from minority communities remain disproportionately high, particularly for alleged drug-related or security-related crimes," she added. 

The Iran Human Rights Organization, based in Norway, announced that 350 people have been executed in Iranian prisons in the first half of 2023.

Since the start of nationwide protests in September 2022, the Islamic Republic has executed seven protesters through an unjust and expedited process. Furthermore, Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of another protester, Mohammad Qobadloo. 

According to Amnesty International's report, at least seven other protesters have been sentenced to death, with dozens more at risk of receiving the same verdict.

Despite widespread domestic and international criticism regarding the escalating issuance and execution of death sentences in Iran, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ajei, the head of the judiciary in the Islamic Republic, defended the continuation of these executions and justified the actions taken by the government.