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The UN Human Rights Office on Friday called for a halt to the increasing number of executions in Iran, as a step towards abolishing death penalty.
“Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year and up until 28 August 2025, according to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office. Iran has been ignoring multiple calls to join the worldwide movement towards abolition of the death penalty,” said Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson.
“In July alone, Iranian authorities executed 110 individuals. This represents more than double the number of people executed in July of last year, and follows a major increase in executions during the first half of 2025,” Shamdasani told reporters at the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using death penalty as a tool of State intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” she added.
Currently facing imminent execution are 11 individuals; six of them charged with “armed rebellion” due to their alleged membership of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) group, and five in relation to their participation in the 2022 protests. On 16 August 2025, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence against workers' rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi.
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. It creates an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people,” the spokesperson said. “It should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
“We call on the Government of Iran not to implement the death penalty against these and other individuals on death row. And once again, we call on Iran to impose a moratorium on the application of the capital punishment, as a step towards its abolition,” Shamdasani said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Marta Hurtado: + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan: +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on increasing executions in Iran
TRT: 01:44
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 August 2025 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year and up until 28 August, according to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office. Iran has been ignoring multiple calls to join the worldwide movement towards abolition of the death penalty.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In July alone, Iranian authorities executed 110 individuals. This represents more than double the number of people executed in July of last year, and follows a major increase in executions during the first half of 2025. The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using death penalty as a tool of State intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. It creates an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. It should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We call on the Government of Iran not to implement the death penalty against these and other individuals on death row. And once again, we call on Iran to impose a moratorium on the application of the capital punishment, as a step towards its abolition.”
- Cutaways: Briefing room
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