US human rights report criticises Turkey, Iran

The US has highlighted impunity and weak administration of justice in Turkey in its annual human rights report.

The report criticized the Turkish government for interfering with freedom of expression and assembly as well as inadequately protecting minorities.

The report was presented by Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday -- following a three-month delay.

The report noted that the judiciary and law enforcement agencies in Turkey were politicized, giving the appearance of "impropriety and bias."

In the report, the State Department cited Iran for violating citizens' basic freedoms in 2014.

The State Department report criticized Tehran for having the second-highest execution rate in the world "after legal proceedings that frequently didn't respect Iran's own constitutional guarantee to due process."

The report accused Iran of "severely restricting" multiple civil liberties and taking few, if any, steps to punish abusers.

"Iran continued to severely restrict civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, speech, religion, and press, and to execute citizens at the second highest rate in the world after legal proceedings that frequently didn't respect Iran's own constitutional guarantee to due process or international legal norms,'' the department said.