For Kurds, Baluch, Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks and Turkmen, discrimination extends from restrictions on language rights to ethnic stereotyping in State media. Economic marginalization, land confiscation and environmental degradation have further deepened poverty in many minority regions. Many Baluch are denied a shenasnameh (identity booklet), limiting access to education, healthcare and formal employment. Kurdish kolbars and Baluch sukhtbars often rely on cross-border transport of goods and fuel for their livelihoods. Environmental mismanagement has displaced communities across minority regions, including Kurdish, Arab, Baluch, Turkmen and Gilak areas, while Azerbaijani Turks continue to experience the consequences of environmental degradation around Lake Urmia. Religious minorities face similar forms of exclusion. Baha'is are effectively barred from higher education and public employment and, like Christian converts, have long been portrayed as security threats. Sunni Muslims and Yarsan remain excluded from public office. This broader context is essential to understanding death penalty cases involving minorities. Discrimination does not end at the gates of the criminal justice system; it can affect arrest, detention, trial and sentencing, including in capital cases. Ethnic minorities facing capital charges often encounter additional barriers to a fair trial, including inadequate interpretation during interrogations and court proceedings, allegations of torture and other ill-treatment aimed at extracting confessions, and prosecutions on national security charges often unsupported by credible evidence. The case of Farhad Baranzehi, a young Baluch man, reportedly sentenced to death for baghy without a lawyer present, raises concerns regarding allegations of torture and other serious fair trial violations. Hatem Özdemir, a Turkish national of Kurdish ethnicity, was reportedly denied interpretation during critical stages of proceedings that resulted in a death sentence for baghy. Yousef Ahmadi, a Kurdish man from Baneh, has alleged extremely violent torture and denial of medical care following his arrest. Similar concerns have been reported in the cases of Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi, Mohammad Faraji and Mohsen Eslamkhah, three Kurdish men sentenced to death in connection with the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. At the time of writing, none of these death sentences has been carried out, and the individuals concerned remain at imminent risk of executions. Documented patterns of ethnic and religious discrimination, combined with recurring allegations of torture, coerced confessions and fair trial violations in individual cases, raise serious concerns about the application of the death penalty to minority groups in Iran. Capital cases already warrant the most exacting scrutiny under international human rights law. These factors demand compelling grounds for particularly rigorous scrutiny of capital cases involving members of ethnic and religious minorities. My Mandate’s communication on Hatem Özdemir spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… Government’s response: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… My Mandate’s communication on Farhad Baranzehi spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… Government’s response: not yet received My Mandate’s communication on Yousef Ahmadi, Raouf Sheikh-Maroufi, Mohammad Faraji and Mohsen Eslamkhah spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… Government’s response: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe…