Iranian security forces attacked Sunday a gathering of families of convicts sentenced to death in front of the building of the Judiciary and made several arrests. 

According to videos posted on social media police tried to disperse the protesters, who were insisting on keeping the continuing their vigil. 

The protesters were carrying placards with the slogans "Don't execute" and "No to execution."

There is no confirmed report of the number of detainees yet, but social media photos and videos show that there were children among the arrested people. 

The families of prisoners sentenced to death have been holding demonstrations in front of the Revolutionary Court in the city of Karaj and the judiciary in Tehran for the past week, demanding a halt to the execution of their family members and relatives. 

Regular protest rallies with various demands have been held in Iran in recent years, but the gathering of families of prisoners sentenced to death is a rare event.

Late in July, two human rights organizations said Iran has embarked on an execution spree at a “horrifying pace” with at least 251 hangings between January 1 and June 30, 2022. 

Amnesty International and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said in a report that the actual number is likely higher, as authorities keep secret figures on death sentences passed and executed.

On June 16, UN Secretary General António Guterres released a report on the situation of human rights in Iran, decrying “the high number of death penalty sentences and executions.” The UN chief said that the number of executions in Iran increased from at least 260 cases in 2020 to 310 individuals in 2021, and the number continued to rise into 2022.