UN office urges Iran to free detained peaceful protesters

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office is calling on Iran’s government to immediately release thousands of people who have been detained for participating in peaceful protests. It has faulted the Islamic Republic’s “increasing harshness” as Western countries seek to ratchet up scrutiny at the top U.N. human rights body of Tehran’s crackdown on demonstrators. Spokesman Jeremy Laurence of the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was calling for all charges to be dropped against the demonstrators who are being held. He cautioned that Iran can only mete out the death penalty for the “most serious crimes” under international law.