Iran continues crackdowns, executions over protests, says UN

Iran is still meting out harsh punishments on those suspected of involvement in mass protests, including “chilling” executions, a United Nations fact-finding mission said Wednesday.

Iran was rocked by demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law.

At a special session in November, the UN Human Rights Council voted to create a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown.

Reporting to the council, Sara Hossain, chair of the independent international fact-finding mission, said that 10 months on, the Amini family’s “right to truth and justice remain unfulfilled.”

“The lack of transparency around the investigations into her death is further evidenced by the arrest and continued detention of the two women journalists, Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who first reported on the event,” she added.

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Iran has announced that 22,000 people have been pardoned in connection with the protests — which “suggests that many more were detained or charged,” said Hossain.

No official data exists on the nature of the allegations against them, or on those convicted, detained, or charged in connection with the protests, she said.

Hossain said pardoned protesters were reportedly made to express remorse — “to effectively admit guilt” in signing written undertakings not to commit “similar crimes” in future.

“Harsh punishments continue to be meted out to those involved in the protests, including for exercising rights protected under international human rights law,” she said.

“Most chilling, seven men have already been executed following hasty proceedings marred by serious allegations of fair trial violations, including confessions extracted under torture.”

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