UN Experts Warn of Intensifying Repression of Ethnic Minorities in Iran
United Nations human rights experts are calling on Iranian authorities to halt reported arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and executions affecting ethnic minority communities.
United Nations human rights experts have urged Iranian authorities to halt what they describe as an escalating campaign of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, ill-treatment and executions targeting ethnic minorities, with Kurdish and Baluch communities facing particular concern.
The experts warned that members of Iran’s minority communities continue to face discrimination and heightened security pressure amid periods of political and social unrest.
Iran’s ethnic minorities must be able to live in safety and dignity, free from discrimination.
According to the experts, thousands of people have reportedly been detained since protests began in December 2025. Many detainees are alleged to have been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment, including pressure intended to extract confessions.
In some cases, individuals were reportedly held in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance.
The experts said reports indicate a sharp rise in arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecutions, particularly involving members of ethnic minority groups. They noted that detainees are frequently charged under broadly defined national security provisions.
Executions Raise Growing Concern
The experts highlighted what they described as an alarming number of executions involving Kurdish and Baluch individuals.
Others are reportedly at imminent risk of execution. Particular concern was raised over Iran’s expanded legal framework governing espionage and national security offences.
The experts said the 2025 law broadening the definition of espionage, alongside offences including “enmity against God” (moharebeh), “spreading corruption on earth” (Efsad-fil-Arz), and “armed rebellion against the foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran” (baghi), has been used especially against Kurdish individuals and others accused of political dissent.
They warned that broadly worded security legislation can facilitate prosecutions in which peaceful dissent or minority activism is treated as a threat to national security.
Five Individuals Reportedly Face Imminent Execution
The UN experts issued an urgent appeal concerning five individuals they say face an immediate risk of execution.
Four of the individuals are Kurdish, while Farhad Baranzehi is a member of the Baluch minority. According to the experts, their legal proceedings were allegedly affected by torture and forced confessions.
The cases, they said, form part of a broader pattern of repression affecting Iran’s Kurdish and Baluch populations. They also referenced previously imposed death sentences against Pakhshan Azizi and Varisheh Moradi.
Minority Identity and Religious Status
The experts expressed particular concern for communities whose ethnic and religious identities overlap, including Sunni Kurds and Yarsans.
They said such communities have repeatedly been portrayed as national security threats during periods of unrest, increasing their vulnerability to detention, prosecution and other forms of state pressure.
Reports of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance have also affected other ethnic communities, including members of the Azeri community, with minors reportedly among those detained.
Allegations of Repression Beyond Iran’s Borders
The experts further warned that pressure against Kurdish and Baluch communities is not confined to Iran.
They cited reports of threats, surveillance and intimidation targeting individuals living abroad, describing such practices as forms of transnational repression.
Iranian authorities reportedly published the names of 37 Kurdish leaders and activists living abroad, together with in absentia sentences and extradition requests. Authorities have also reportedly seized assets belonging to hundreds of Iranians overseas.
The experts also raised concern about what they described as the misuse of counter-terrorism laws against minority communities both domestically and internationally.
UN Experts Reiterate Iran’s Human Rights Obligations
The experts reminded Iranian authorities of the country’s obligations under international human rights law.
These include the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, protection against enforced disappearance, the right to liberty and security, guarantees of due process and a fair trial, protection against arbitrary deprivation of life, and the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
They called on Iranian authorities to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are protected from discriminatory treatment and that all legal proceedings comply with international human rights standards.
The UN experts said they remain in communication with Iranian authorities regarding the cases and broader concerns raised.
