A group of 32 countries, including 29 European states as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, condemned Iran for using the death penalty against participants in the protests. The joint statement was published by Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CNN reports, according to UNN.
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In the statement, the countries called on Tehran to respect citizens’ right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and to respond to protesters’ demands for change.
The people of Iran must be able to freely exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear. We also call on Iran to listen to the voice of its people, who are demanding change, and to take significant steps to ensure respect for human rights
According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, since March 19, at least 56 people have been executed in Iran on charges related to national security. Among them, 27 people were linked to anti-government protests that took place at the beginning of the year.
The number of executions in Iran continues to rise
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights says that the total number of executions in Iran since the beginning of 2026 has already reached 916, 15 of which took place in August alone.
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Back in April, the European External Action Service called the scale of the use of the death penalty in Iran "horrific" and called on the authorities to release people detained during the protests.
The new executions are taking place amid growing pressure on the Iranian authorities following large-scale anti-government protests and the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran.
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