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Press releases Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights – 07 January 2025 GENEVA – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday said he was deeply troubled by the marked increase in executions in Iran last year. At least 901 people were reportedly executed in 2024, including some 40 in one week alone in December. At least 853

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Members of the Austrian Government, the European Commission, the World Medical Association, and other relevant medical and international legal organizations, We, the undersigned, urgently call your attention to the systematic attacks on hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza by the Israeli military. These actions constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and threaten the very

Introduction With profound compassion and great respect, we commemorate Iranian activist Kianoosh Sanjari, who sacrificed his life to shed light on the ongoing human rights violations in Iran. His suicide on November 13, 2024, cannot be seen as an act of despair but must be recognized as a desperate cry for justice and freedom. This communiqué aims not only to

The murder of Dr Masoud Davoodi, a cardiologist and professor at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, by the brother of one of his former patients who had passed away, has triggered widespread reactions among the Iranian medical community. This incident has heightened safety concerns for medical staff regarding threats and physical assaults, leading to protests and strikes in Yasuj. The

We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the death sentences imposed on six defendants in the Ekbatan case, including Milad Armon, Alireza Kafai, Amir Mohammad Khosh Eqbal, Navid Najaran, Hossein Nemati, and Alireza Barmarz Pournak. These sentences highlight the blatant disregard for justice and human rights by the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and exemplify the grave injustice and

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, strongly condemn the death sentence imposed on Varisheh Moradi, a Kurdish-Iranian political activist. Ms. Moradi, who has been detained since August 2023, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran under the charge of “baghi” (rebellion against state authority), an accusation often used against political activists and dissidents. Background and Judicial Violations

Dear Federal Minister Baerbock, The Iranian Forum in Austria, an association of numerous Iranian organisations and personalities, is writing to you to request that you refrain from accepting the heinous crime of the execution of a German citizen, “Mr Jamshid Sharmahd” by the Islamic regime in Iran. It would be a misstep for Germany to allow itself to be humiliated

The series of explosions that occurred in various public locations in Lebanon represent a significant and troubling development with implications for international humanitarian law and regional peace and stability in the Middle East. The recent terrorist attacks in Lebanon, which resulted in the harming of a significant number of civilians, are a matter of grave concern and a clear violation

The most recent fatal incident involving the Iranian police has brought to light the systematic use of torture and the violation of human rights. Despite the initiation of investigations and inquiries, expectations for a comprehensive reform of the Iranian security authorities have, thus far, remained unfulfilled. The case of Seyyed Mohammad Mirmousavi, a 36-year-old Iranian national who died in police

The systematic deprivation of the right to medical treatment of prisoners by the Islamic Republic is politically motivated and must be considered torture. The wilful denial of medical care to political prisoners, which has long been practised in the Islamic Republic of Iran, is on the increase. The Iranian authorities are thus intensifying the punishment of political opponents. Political prisoners