“I am alarmed by the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March, and that capital punishment continues to be used to instil fear among the population and suppress dissent,” Turk said. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said more than 100 other people remain at risk of execution on similar security charges, while executions for drug-related offences continue to be carried out at an “alarming rate”. According to reports received by the rights office, confessions leading to capital verdicts have allegedly been obtained under torture and other ill-treatment. Highlighting the broader human rights situation, UN experts have repeatedly called on Tehran to end arbitrary detentions and reform its penal code. Iranian officials have rejected UN criticisms of their judicial system, maintaining that capital punishment is a lawful measure applied strictly in accordance with national legal frameworks and religious law.