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| - The United Nations on Friday urged Iran to halt the "imminent" execution of a member of the Baluch ethnic minority as it rebuked Tehran for a spate of recent hangings including of members of minority groups. Activists outside Iran have over the last weeks expressed concern over the numbers of ethnic Kurds and Baluch being executed or facing capital punishment in Iran. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have said that a member of the Baluch minority Javid Dehghan, 31, is due to be executed on Saturday. "We strongly condemn the series of executions -- at least 28 -- since mid-December, including of people from minority groups," the Geneva-based Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights wrote on Twitter. "We urge the authorities to halt the imminent execution of Javid Dehghan, to review his and other death penalty cases in line with human rights law," it added. Kurds mainly live in the northwest of the country and the Baluch -- one of Iran's most disadvantaged groups -- in the southeast. Both areas over the past years have been scenes of sporadic attacks against security forces by armed militant groups seeking greater rights. Amnesty said Dehghan was sentenced to death in May 2017 in connection with his alleged membership in an armed group and alleged involvement in an armed ambush that killed two Revolutionary Guards. But it said his trial was "grossly unfair" with the court relying on "torture-tainted confessions" and ignoring abuses committed during the investigation. It said methods of torture described by Dehghan included "beatings, floggings, pulling out at least one of his thumbs nails and stripping him naked". "Amnesty International urges the Iranian authorities not to compound the shocking catalogue of human rights violations already committed against Javid Dehghan by carrying out his execution," it said. NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) had this week also warned of "an escalation in the execution and crackdown members on the Kurdish and Baluch minorities", calling on the international community and human rights organisations for a stronger response. It said 19 Baluch prisoners had been executed in prisons in the cities of Mashhad and Zahedan over the last five weeks. Rights groups say Iran executes more convicts than any other country in the world except China. The Islamic republic has been under fire over a series of executions late last year of high profile figures, including the formerly France-based dissident Ruhollah Zam on December 12 and wrestler Navid Afkari on September 12. sjw/jh/har
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