Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, has called on Iranian authorities to cease arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and executions targeting Kurdish and Baluch citizens. Writing on her official X account and referring to a joint statement issued by UN experts, Sato stated that at least 24 Baluch citizens and 22 Kurdish citizens have been executed since January 1, 2026, with many others facing an imminent risk of execution.
The UN experts specifically warned of the imminent risk of execution facing five prisoners: four Kurdish citizens, Yousef Ahmadi, Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi, Mohammad Faraji, and Mohsen Eslamkhah, and one Baluch citizen, Farhad Baranzehi. According to the statement, the trials of these five individuals were reportedly characterized by torture and forced confessions. Additionally, two Kurdish female political prisoners, Pakhshan Azizi and Varisheh Moradi, remain under sentence of death.
The UN experts emphasized that Iranian authorities frequently employ broadly defined security charges, such as “moharebeh” (enmity against God), “efsad-fil-arz” (corruption on Earth), and “baghi” (armed rebellion), to target ethnic minorities. They pointed to the Law on Increasing Espionage Penalties, enacted in 2025, as another mechanism used for judicial persecution.
