Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi urged the international community to increase pressure on Iran over its grave human rights violations during a UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday.
Mohammadi, 51, a prominent human rights activist, has spent much of the last two decades in and out of prison for her campaign for human rights in Iran. She emphasized the systematic, widespread, and institutionalized nature of human rights abuses in Iran, targeting various groups including political dissidents, women, religious minorities, and ethnic groups.
Expressing concern over the recent surge in protests and repression in Iran, Mohammadi called on the UN and human rights organizations worldwide to hold the Islamic republic accountable for its egregious violations of human rights.
Mohammadi’s message was delivered by the NGO Together Against the Death Penalty, as she remains detained in Tehran’s Evin prison, facing severe health issues.
The council’s special rapporteur on rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, highlighted the alarming increase in executions in Iran, with at least 834 people executed in 2023, a 43-percent increase compared to the previous year.
Responding to the report, Tehran’s representative Somayeh Karimdoost criticized its accuracy and fairness, asserting Iran’s progress in promoting and protecting human rights.
The fact-finding mission investigating the deadly crackdown on protests in 2022 found violations amounting to crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, and enforced disappearance.
While several diplomats condemned Iran’s human rights record, representatives of countries such as Russia, China, and North Korea came to Tehran’s defense.
Outside the UN building, about 50 people demonstrated, urging the organization to take action against Iran.
(Credit: France 24 news)
