According to a UN observer, 143 people have been executed in Iran since January. They were all convicted in "extremely unfair trials," said Javaid Rehman, the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, in Geneva. At least 500 people were sentenced to death last year, Rehman told the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In addition, according to the expert, at least 527 people were killed during the recent protest movement. Demonstrators were shot or beaten to death by security forces.

The protests against the repressive government course had plunged the political leadership in Iran into one of the worst crises in decades. The trigger was the death of the Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini. She died in police custody in mid-September after being arrested for breaking Islamic dress codes.

According to Rehman, the massive state human rights violations since Amini's death - including murder, torture and rape - may constitute crimes against humanity.