One of Iran’s most prominent human rights advocates is warning that the Iranian government is using the aftermath of its 12-day war with Israel to escalate repression against its own citizens — particularly political and civil activists.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, in a video message to ABC News, warned that a surge in executions and widespread arrests since the war began shows that the regime is using the moment to deflect from decades of alleged repression and failed policy, with the aim to “spread fear and terror.”