Many Violations Of The Law And Trial Process, The Head Of UN Human Rights Calls Iran's Execution Of State Approved Murder

UN Human Rights Chief Volker T\"uk. (Wikimedia Commons/EU2018BG Bulgarian Presidency)

JAKARTA - The UN's Head of Human Rights (HAM) said the Iranian government's death penalty for raising fears of the population and eradicating dissent was a "state-approved killing".

"Arming criminal procedures to punish people who exercise their basic rights, such as those who participate in or organize demonstrations, is the same as state-approved killings," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, added that the execution violated international human rights law.

Iranian authorities hanged two men on Saturday for allegedly killing a member of the security forces during a national protest, while many others have been sentenced to death.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has received information that there will be two executions in the near future according to the statement, while more than 100 people face charges of major crimes.

Turk further said in a statement that there were many violations of legal proceedings and fair trials in these cases, including the application of criminal provisions with unclear words, refusal of access to preferred lawyers, forced confessions under torture and denial of appeal rights.

Iran, which blamed the unrest on its foreign enemies including the United States, considers its crackdown on protests aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty.

The statement by the UN human rights office with those harsh words comes as Turk continues to push for a trip to the country and a meeting with its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, senior human rights official Mohammad Ali Arnsour said at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.

A separate face-to-face meeting was planned between Turkish and Iranian authorities "soon", added Alnsour, without providing details.

"We can't just stand still when there are very serious violations," he said.

It is known that the Geneva-based Human Rights Council voted in November to form a three-member independent fact-finding mission in Iran's crackdown on protests.