A coalition of more than 300 international legal experts, former United Nations officials, Nobel Prize laureates, judges, and human rights advocates has issued an open letter calling on the United Nations to take immediate action over what they describe as a sharp escalation in executions and political repression in Iran.
The letter, dated May 18, 2026, was addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and warns that Iranian authorities are increasingly using capital punishment as a means of suppressing dissent. The signatories include several internationally known figures, among them former President of the UN Human Rights Council Joachim Rücker, former International Criminal Court President Sang-Hyun Song, former UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Javaid Rehman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureates Oleksandra Matviichuk and Jody Williams.
“We write to express grave concern over the accelerating use of the death penalty in Iran as an instrument of political repression,” the signatories stated in the letter.
🚨 Former presidents of the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, and Security Council & @IntlCrimCourt and former UN Special Rapporteur on Iran @JavaidRehman are among +300 signatories of new letter urging @antonioguterres & @volker_turk to act now to #StopExecutionsInIran. https://t.co/0grzneH6vG pic.twitter.com/5ac0izK3TD
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) May 18, 2026
The appeal comes amid a broader crackdown that the signatories say has intensified since regional tensions escalated on February 28, 2026. According to the document, Iranian authorities have expanded arrests, executions, and restrictions on civil liberties during the period of unrest.
The letter alleges that the Iranian government has launched what it describes as a coordinated campaign involving “mass arrests, torture, and state-sanctioned killing,” while also restricting internet access across the country in an effort to contain dissent and limit the flow of information.
At the same time, the signatories warned that the pace of executions has accelerated significantly.
“The scale of executions has reached levels not seen in nearly four decades,” the letter stated.
Particular concern was raised over the treatment of political prisoners and detainees accused of connections to opposition groups. The document specifically referred to individuals linked to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
“At least eight political prisoners have been executed solely due to affiliation with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), while at least 11 others currently face execution on similar grounds,” the signatories wrote.
The letter also highlighted the cases of protesters who were reportedly sentenced to death after expedited judicial proceedings. According to the document, some detainees were executed on charges such as baghi (“armed rebellion”) following what the signatories described as summary trials.
The appeal drew attention to statements attributed to senior Iranian judicial officials, citing findings from the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. According to the signatories, those statements reflected official support for harsher punishment against demonstrators and political dissidents.
“The Prosecutor General declared that all protesters had committed moharebeh (‘enmity against God’), a capital offence, while the Head of the Judiciary instructed judges to show ‘no mercy’ in protest-related cases,” the letter stated.
The document also referenced estimates from the Fact-Finding Mission indicating that more than 50,000 protesters have been arrested during recent unrest across Iran.
Beyond the current wave of arrests and executions, the signatories argued that the situation reflects a longer pattern of impunity inside the Iranian system. The letter connected recent developments to the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners, which remain a central focus of international human rights concerns related to Iran.
“This wave of executions cannot be separated from Iran’s long-standing culture of impunity, rooted in the 1988 massacre,” the letter stated.
The comparison to the events of the late 1980s was presented as part of a broader warning that the absence of accountability over past abuses has contributed to the continuation of severe punishments against political opponents and protesters.
The signatories urged the United Nations and member states to pursue concrete measures aimed at halting the current crackdown. Their demands included an immediate suspension of executions, the release of political prisoners, the restoration of unrestricted internet access, and the establishment of international accountability mechanisms to investigate alleged violations.
The appeal concluded with a warning directed at the international community.
“Silence in the face of these atrocities only reinforces impunity,” the letter stated.
The intervention by the group of international figures comes as Iranian judicial authorities continue to call for faster implementation of sentences in security-related cases. The letter was released following months marked by executions, widespread arrests, and internet disruptions in the aftermath of anti-government unrest across the country.
In recent years, international human rights organizations and UN experts have repeatedly raised concerns about Iran’s use of the death penalty, particularly in cases involving political detainees and protesters. The latest appeal places renewed pressure on the United Nations to address allegations of systematic repression and to consider additional mechanisms aimed at monitoring and investigating developments inside Iran.
The involvement of former UN officials, international judges, and Nobel laureates has added further international visibility to the issue, while the letter itself reflects growing concern among human rights advocates over the direction of Iran’s internal security policies and judicial response to dissent.
As calls for accountability continue to grow, the letter signals an effort by prominent international figures to place the issue of executions and political repression in Iran more firmly on the agenda of the United Nations and the broader international community.
