UN Fact-Finding Mission Urgently Calls on Iran to Immediately Halt Protest-Related Executions
- Human Rights Research Center
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Author: Eman Butt
August 3, 2026
HRRC expresses serious concern over the expedited implementation of the death penalty, especially in cases where the proceedings have been widely documented as falling short of internationally recognized fair trial standards. HRRC reiterates that the right to life and the right to a fair trial are fundamental human rights that must be upheld in all circumstances. We call for an immediate halt to all executions and for the abolition of the death penalty as a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.
![Iranian people protesting [Image credit: National Council of Resistance of Iran]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f05ed1_3983578866174036b7e7d85d42e3ac9f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_555,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/f05ed1_3983578866174036b7e7d85d42e3ac9f~mv2.jpg)
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in November 2022 for a period of one year by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate and address serious human rights abuses. The Council extended the mandate and requested that the Fact-Finding Mission conduct an urgent investigation into allegations of rights violations, abuses and crimes perpetrated in relation to the protests that began on December 28, 2025.
These protests broke out in response to the country’s economic conditions after the Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the United States dollar in late December 2025, marking this as one of the most significant acts of social opposition to the Iranian religious leadership since its inception in 1979. Due to the government’s brutal response, more than 30,000 civilians were murdered. Twelve men were later arrested in connection with the protests on January 8th in Isfahan’s Alikhani Square where four members of the security forces were killed. The 12 men were convicted of overly broad and vague charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz).
The young men, aged between late teens and early twenties, were reportedly arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, and in some cases subjected to enforced disappearance and ill-treatment. One of the young men –Shervin Bagherian – was subjected to enforced disappearance for 21 days and tortured. His forced “confession” was broadcast in a propaganda video on January 25, 2026, prior to his trial, and he was denied the right to access a lawyer throughout the investigation phase.
The UN experts have asserted that sentencing 12 people to death in one hearing, in a closed courtroom and without clarity as to each defendant’s individual responsibility, violates established fair trial standards; broadcasting of the confession before the trial also violates the presumption of innocence. Recently, on July 19th, the Iranian judiciary announced that Erfan Esfandiari (18-years-old) and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan national, had been executed, reportedly following the “confessions” they made in detention which were used to convict them.
On July 23rd, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran urged Iranian authorities to immediately halt the executions of the remaining 10 young men and reiterated the need to establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, with a view to its abolition for all crimes. However, despite repeated UN calls to halt executions, on July 28, 2026, two more men were publicly executed. An angry crowd gathered at dawn and began chanting against the police, prompting anti-riot officers to intervene. Despite the risks, Iranians continue to demand the abolition of the death penalty.
Glossary
Arbitrarily: in a way that does not seem to be based on a reason, system or plan and sometimes seems unfair.
Defendant: person or group against whom a criminal or civil action is brought; someone who is being sued or accused of committing a crime.
Degrading: causing or associated with a low, destitute, or demoralized state.
Dwindling: Growing less in size, intensity, or number until there is nothing or almost nothing left.
Expedited: accelerated or sped up; promptly executed
Fact Finding Mission on Islamic Republic of Iran: An independent investigative mechanism established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in November 2022 to investigate alleged human rights violations committed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly in the context of the protests that began on 28 December 2025.
Inception: an act, process, or instance of beginning
Judiciary: Part of a country's government that is responsible for its legal system, including all the judges in the country's courts.
Mofsed-e-fel-arz: a legal charge which means ‘one who engages in spreading corruption on earth’, and carries the death penalty.
Moharebeh: It is an Islamic-Arabic term that in the lexicon (a book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language and their definitions) of the Iranian regime means “fighting God” and its punishment is death.
Moratorium: a legally authorized period of delay in the performance of a legal obligation.
Presumption of Innocence: Any defendant in a criminal trial is assumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty.
Propaganda: allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause.
Reiterates: to state or do over again or repeatedly sometimes with a wearying effect.
Vague: not clearly defined, grasped, or understood.
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