UN rights chief condemns Iran for branding protesters as terrorists
The UN human rights chief said on Tuesday he was "horrified" by rising violence by Iran’s security forces against peaceful protesters and condemned what he described as efforts to label demonstrators as terrorists to justify the crackdown.
"The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop, and the labelling of protesters as ‘terrorists’ to justify violence against them is unacceptable," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement read out by UN rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.
"As we saw most recently in 2022, broad sections of the Iranian population have taken to the streets, demanding fundamental changes in the governance of their country," Turk said. "And once again, the authorities’ reaction is to inflict brutal force to repress legitimate demands for change."
"This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue," he said. "The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard."
Turk said all killings, violence against protesters and other rights violations must be investigated under international standards and that those responsible should be held to account.
