UN experts ask Iran to stop executions

The Associated Press

By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Three top U.N. human rights experts appealed Friday to Iran to halt 11 executions they say are scheduled to take place Saturday and to declare a moratorium on the death penalty.

"We urge the Iranian authorities to stop the executions of Saeed Sedeghi and 10 other individuals scheduled for Saturday, 13 October," said the UN Special Rapporteurs on Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, on extrajudicial executions, Christof Heyns, and on torture, Juan E. Mendez.

Sedeghi was sentenced to death on June 2 for drug-related offenses. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says he did not receive a fair trial and was subjected to torture.

"In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, the sentence of death can be imposed only for the most serious crimes, which do not include drug crimes. Cases that do not meet these standards are tantamount to arbitrary executions," noted the experts, who are appointed by the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council to report on specific human rights themes.

"We have repeatedly urged Iran to halt executions," they said. "We regret, however, that instead of heeding our calls, the Iranian authorities have stepped up the use of the death penalty."

London-based human rights group Amnesty International says that as of Wednesday it had tallied at least 344 Iranian executions since the start of the year, including 135 executions that have not been formally announced. The majority of those executed were convicted of drug trafficking.

The 10th International Day against the Death Penalty was observed two days ago, and the experts said they were "appalled" that this event has been overshadowed by an increase in the number of executions in Iran.

The overall global trend on the use of the death penalty has seen the number of executions worldwide decline, according to Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. An estimated 150 U.N. nations have abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium, either in law or practice.