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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Tuesday accused Iran’s regime of dramatically intensifying its crackdown on dissent in the wake of the February conflict, warning that Tehran has carried out executions, mass arrests, torture and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns, citing national security.
In a sharply worded statement from Geneva, Turks said at least 21 people have been executed and more than 4,000 arrested on national security-related charges since February 28, as the regime faces scrutiny over what it described as a sweeping attack on fundamental rights.
Turk said, “I am appalled that, in addition to the already serious effects of the conflict, the authorities continue to strip away the rights of the Iranian people in harsh and cruel ways.”
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During the demonstration, a demonstrator holds placards saying ‘Stop executions in Iran’ and ‘Free Iran’. Protesters gathered outside Downing Street to protest against executions in Iran and in support of Iran’s independence. (Vuk Vlasic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Since the beginning of the conflict two months ago, the United Nations said nine people have been executed in connection with the January 2026 protests, 10 for alleged membership in opposition groups and two on espionage charges. It is estimated that around 40,000 people were killed by regime forces during the January uprising.
Turk warned that Iran’s broad use of vaguely defined national security laws has enabled authorities to prosecute swiftly, refuse to provide legal advice, and rely on coerced confessions.
He called on Tehran to halt executions, impose a moratorium on the death penalty and immediately release those arbitrarily detained, saying, “Even where national security calls for it, human rights restrictions can only be limited where strictly necessary and proportionate.”
For many Iranian dissidents, the findings already reflect a grim reality.
A billboard depicting the supreme leaders of Iran since 1979: (left to right) Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (present) is displayed above a highway in Tehran on March 10, 2026. Iran appointed Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as its supreme leader in March, replacing his father. 9, 2026. (Via AFP/Getty Images)
“It’s bad,” Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of Iran So Far Away, told Fox News Digital. “They are completely destroying the country.”
On Saturday, it was reported that Iran had executed another athlete, a 21-year-old karate champion. Sasan Azadvar Junkani was detained during anti-regime protests in January and was executed by the regime on Thursday, according to a Euronews report.
Wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi was executed by the regime in March for alleged illegal actions in January protests against authorities. (The Foreign Desk)
In March, Iran executed another athlete, 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi, for protesting against the regime, Fox News Digital reported.
Turki’s office said detainees reportedly faced enforced disappearances, torture, mock executions and televised statements, with ethnic and religious minorities, including Baha’is, Parsis, Kurds and Baluch Iranians, facing particular risks.
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Ali and Kiana Rahmani accept the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 on behalf of their mother, jailed Iranian human rights activist Nargess Mohammadi, at Oslo City Hall in Norway on December 10, 2023. (Javad Parsa/NTB/Reuters)
Among those cited by the United Nations was Nobel Peace Prize winner Nargess Mohammadi, whose condition deteriorated rapidly on Friday in what her family described as a catastrophic health crisis after being denied specialized care for months.
Mohammadi was immediately transferred by ambulance from Zanjan prison to hospital after suffering complete loss of consciousness twice in the same day with severe cardiac complications, according to a statement from the Nerges Foundation published on Friday. The foundation said prison doctors determined that his condition could no longer be managed at the site, leading to what his family called a “last-minute” transfer that may have come dangerously late.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that her physical condition was already critical after her violent arrest and deteriorating prison treatment. “He has suffered severe trauma and requires immediate medical attention.”
Rahmani had previously said that Mohammadi’s medical team and outside experts had pushed for treatment in Tehran due to his history of multiple heart procedures, while authorities reportedly blocked those recommendations until his condition became life-threatening. Despite her physical decline, Rahmani said, “Spiritually and mentally, Nargess remains stable.”
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In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, tear gas is fired during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP) (UGC via AP)
The U.N. statement, coinciding with Mohammadi’s emergency hospitalization, has intensified scrutiny of Iran’s prison conditions, which the Turks have described as overcrowding, medical neglect and serious human rights abuses.
Turk also cited severe prison conditions, including overcrowding, lack of food, water and medicine, and denial of medical care.
The UN also highlighted reports of deadly violence in detention facilities, including claims that security forces killed at least five detainees in Chabahar prison after protests over suspended food distribution.
But while dissidents welcomed the UN’s unusually forceful language, some also questioned whether condemnation without action could meaningfully change conditions, especially as Iran was promoted this week to the role of vice-chairman on the UN Nuclear Nonproliferation Committee.
Zand said, “The reason the Iranians don’t trust the UN, don’t like it and don’t want to know about it is its repeated failure to hold the regime to account and stand up to fire with the right amount of pressure at the right time.”
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Iranian expatriate activists gather in front of the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on January 27, 2024 to protest an increase in the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran rulers. The demonstration was organized by Echo Iran Group. (Echo Iran/Middle East Images/AFP)
While he said the latest statement was important in its own right, Zand argued that many viewed such condemnations as hollow when combined with the institutional legitimacy given to Tehran.
He said, “They are making statements… fine.” “But what will they do about it?”
