United Nations Human Rights Office called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release thousands of people detained for their participation in peaceful demonstrations.
According to a statement published by the official website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, on Tuesday, the Public Prosecutor of Iran said, on November 8, that more than 1,000 indictments have been issued against detainees related to the protests in Tehran province alone, and hundreds of indictments have been issued. charges in the rest of the country.
The United Nations Human Rights Office urged the Iranian authorities to immediately release all those detained in connection with the peaceful protests, and drop the charges against them, as human rights law protects people’s right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
The statement indicated that instead of opening a space for dialogue on legitimate demands, the Iranian authorities are responding to the unprecedented protests with increasing harshness.
On Sunday, an Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran convicted an unnamed protester of ‘corruption on earth’ for allegedly damaging public property and sentenced the person to death, and at least 9 other protesters have been charged with capital offences.
It is noteworthy that since the killing of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, on September 16, 3 days after she was arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the strict dress code imposed, the demonstrations have not subsided in the country.
The protests have spread to at least 140 towns and cities, and over 300 have been killed during the violent crackdown, including more than 40 children and two dozen women.
The Commission, therefore, calls on the Iranian authorities to impose an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, to refrain from indictment for capital offences, and to quash death sentences for crimes not described as the most serious crimes.
