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Thursday, May 21, 2026
After latest executions, UN rights chief says Iran ‘instrumentalizing current conflict to further stifle dissent’

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), Volker Turk, speaks during a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 26, 2025. (AP)
The UN rights chief deplores the execution of two more men in Iran, saying Tehran was instrumentalizing the war with the United States and Israel to further stifle dissent.
“Since the military escalation began, at least 34 people have been executed on political and national security charges, including in the context of the January protests. It is unacceptable that the Iranian authorities are instrumentalizing the current conflict to further stifle dissent,” Volker Turk’s office says on X.
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