The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said at least nine of those executed were linked to protests that shook Iran in January 2026, while 10 others were put to death for alleged membership in opposition groups and two were executed on spying charges.

The agency said many of those detained had been subjected to enforced disappearances, torture and what it described as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including forced confessions, some of which were later broadcast publicly, as well as mock executions.

“I am appalled that on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities, in harsh and brutal ways,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

“In times of war, threats to human rights increase exponentially. Yet even where national security is invoked, human rights can only be limited where strictly necessary and proportionate,” he said.Turk called on Iranian authorities to halt further executions, establish a moratorium on the death penalty, ensure due process and fair trial guarantees, and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.

OHCHR said many people, including minors, remain at risk of capital punishment because of Iran’s broad interpretation of national security offenses. It said judicial proceedings were often accelerated and some death sentences, including those of at least nine executed protesters, were reportedly based on coerced confessions.

The agency also raised concerns over the transfer of dozens of prisoners, including prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, to undisclosed locations.Iran remains one of the world’s leading users of capital punishment and executes more people annually than any country except China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.

Turk also criticized prison conditions across Iran, describing them as dire, with overcrowding and severe shortages of food, water, hygiene supplies, medicine and access to medical care.In Chabahar prison on March 18, detainees protesting the prolonged suspension of food distribution were reportedly met with lethal force.

OHCHR said security forces killed at least five prisoners and injured 21 others after confronting demonstrators inside the prison.The agency further said internet access in Iran had been almost completely shut down for 61 consecutive days, describing it as one of the longest nationwide shutdowns ever recorded.

“This is denying people across the country access to vital information, silencing independent voices, and inflicting enormous social and economic harm,” Turk said.He said the restrictions were worsening an already fragile humanitarian and economic situation and urged authorities to restore access immediately.