# United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed alarm at the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March. At least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 individuals in cases linked to January’s nationwide anti-government protests. Executions for drug-related offences are also continuing at an alarming rate. Türk says the persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees is deeply troubling. He says the death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity.
UN human rights chief is alarmed by the rise in executions in Iran