The United Nations says Iran has executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges since March 19, warning that the Islamic Republic is increasingly using the death penalty to silence dissent and intimidate the population.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said 27 of those executed had been convicted in cases connected to anti-government protests. The U.N. also warned that more than 100 additional people are currently at risk of execution on similar national security charges.

“I am alarmed by the increase in executions and death sentences handed down in Iran since March, as well as by the continued use of the death penalty to instill fear in the population and suppress dissent,” Türk said in a statement.

Türk also expressed concern over Iran’s continued use of capital punishment in drug-related cases and urged Iranian authorities to immediately halt all executions and begin moving toward abolishing the death penalty. He also raised concerns about due process and the fairness of trials that result in death sentences.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately respond to the allegations. Iranian officials have consistently defended the country’s judicial system, arguing that its legal proceedings comply with national law and that the death penalty is necessary to protect public safety and national security.

Iran remains one of the world’s leading executioners, drawing repeated criticism from the United Nations and international human rights organizations.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)