UN rapporteur joins weekly hunger strike over Iran's execution surge and protest crackdown

UN special rapporteur Gina Romero Rodríguez announced she will join a weekly hunger strike on Tuesday to protest Iran's use of the death penalty against protesters and political prisoners. She cited at least 46 executions since March 19 and called the surge the highest concentration of political executions in Iran in nearly 40 years.

UN special rapporteur Gina Romero Rodríguez announced on Monday she will join a weekly hunger strike on Tuesday to protest Iran's use of the death penalty against protesters and political prisoners. In a video statement, she said the death penalty is being used against people exercising freedom of assembly, association, and expression. She noted at least 46 political prisoners and protesters have been executed since March 19, calling it the highest concentration of political executions in Iran in nearly 40 years. Rodriguez named specific individuals on death row, including former boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaie Sani, 18-year-old Shervin Bagherian, and brothers Hamidreza and Abdolreza Fathi. The article cites a HRANA report documenting 2,003 executions in Iran between October 2025 and October 2026, with 95% carried out without announcement. Of 69 people executed on political and security-related charges over the past year, 35 were connected to the January 2026 protests.