Geneva, Switzerland - A United Nations official said on Tuesday that a woman is among the 17 people reportedly facing execution in Iran for taking part in anti-government protests.

Two executions are imminent, Middle Eastern region human rights officer Mohammad Alnsour said in Geneva on Tuesday.

The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, appealed to the government in Tehran to suspend the executions.

So far, four participants in demonstrations have been executed.

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The most recent were two young men on January 7 who had been accused of killing a security guard.

According to Türk, the charges against the accused have been vague and the minimum guarantees for fair trials not respected. Alleged confessions were extracted through torture, his office said.

"The weaponization of criminal procedures to punish people for exercising their basic rights – such as those participating in or organizing demonstrations – amounts to state sanctioned killing," Türk said.

The nationwide protests against the repressive course of the government and the Islamic system of rule in Tehran were triggered by the death of the Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in September.

She died in police custody after being arrested for violating Islamic dress codes.