ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – UN human rights experts on Monday censured Iran for issuing death sentences to 12 people in Isfahan during a single hearing, over their alleged involvement in the January nationwide protests, urging Tehran to halt the executions.

Earlier in July, rights watchdogs warned that 12 political detainees, sentenced to death in the so-called Alikhani Square case, faced an imminent risk of execution after being transferred to undisclosed locations.

The case is linked to the January protests in Isfahan, during which four members of Iranian security forces were killed, per the state’s narrative.

The UN Human Rights Council condemned the imposition of the death sentences, citing its experts, whom the report said were “in contact with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on these issues.”

“Sentencing 12 people to death in one hearing, in a closed courtroom and without clarity as to each defendant’s individual responsibility violates established fair trial standards,” said Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur for the human rights situation in Iran.

The death sentences were handed down after trials that took “only three one-hour sessions,” the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization said, claiming that the verdicts were based on “forced confessions” obtained following torture.

“Confessions obtained under coercion must never be admitted as evidence, and broadcasting them before trial violates the presumption of innocence,”  the UN experts said.

Earlier in July, “two of the men were executed, sparking fears for the remaining 10,” according to the UN report.

Iran has a long history of broadcasting and alleged confessions from detainees that are widely believed to be have been obtained through threats, psychological pressure, and, in some cases, physical torture.

The UN report said that at least 24 people have been executed in Iran in 2026 in connection with the January protests.

Iran was engulfed in nationwide protests starting late last year, as business owners and shopkeepers at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar went on strike and staged demonstrations over the falling value of the Iranian rial against the US dollar. The unrest later spread to other provinces, with chants increasingly targeting the state.

The protests led to a violent crackdown from Iranian authorities during which tens of thousands of people were killed, injured, or arrested.

The US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) reported that it had confirmed the deaths of 6,388 protestors, as well as 236 children, during the period between December 2025 and February 2026.