Independent UN human rights investigators have asked Iran to please stop executing people who participated in a protest in Isfahan earlier this year. Specifically, they're concerned about 10 men currently on death row, some of whose relatives have already been summoned for what the experts ominously call 'final visits.'

This appeal follows the July 19 execution of two other men in the same case: Erfan Esfandiari, reportedly 18 years old, and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan national. The UN mission 'strongly condemned' that, which we assume Iran will take to heart any day now.

All 12 men were arrested in connection with a protest on January 8 in Isfahan's Alikhani Square that led to the killing of four security forces members. The UN experts warn that more executions are 'imminent,' which is a diplomatic way of saying 'please don't do the thing you're clearly about to do.'

The executions are part of a pattern linked to nationwide protests that began last December. In March, three young men were executed in Qom; in April, four more were executed in Tehran for an alleged attack on a Basij base. Since December, credible reports indicate over 60 people - including at least three women and two boys - have been sentenced to death. Iran's own judiciary says 23 men have been executed since March.

The UN mission is particularly worried that Iran is fast-tracking these cases. On July 15, Tehran Prosecutor General Ali Salehi, following a directive from Judiciary Head Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, announced that all cases related to the hostilities and protests had been 'finalized' and referred to courts. The experts warn this raises 'serious fears' of more death sentences and executions - because when a government announces it's speeding up executions, that's generally bad news for the people being executed.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, established by the UN Human Rights Council in November 2022, consists of three unpaid members: Sara Hossain, Viviana Krsticevic, and Max du Plessis. They're not UN employees, but they are the ones asking Iran to maybe establish a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolition. We'll keep you posted on how that goes.