Iran Records 43% Rise in Executions

Authorities in the Islamic Republic hanged as many as 834 people in 2023, marking an alarming increase of 43 percent from the 582 executions recorded in 2022.

Among those executed, a concerning number – 471 individuals, constituting 56 percent – were sentenced to death for drug-related offenses.

The latest figure reflects a substantial increase in drug-related executions from 256 executions in 2022, 126 in 2021, and an average of just 24 per year during the period of 2018-2020, according to the annual report of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization and Together Against the Death Penalty.

The report details that drug offenses accounted for the majority of executions, while 282 executions were carried out for murder charges.

Additionally, at least 39 individuals faced executions on security-related charges like “waging war against God.” They also include six protesters and one woman.

The severity of the situation is further amplified by the report’s disclosure of seven individuals being publicly hanged.

This public display of capital punishment serves as a chilling reminder of the harshness of the Iranian justice system.

The surge in executions in Iran has sparked international criticism and calls for reform.

Human rights groups and governments have urged the Iranian authorities to halt executions and uphold international human rights obligations immediately.

Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the fairness of trials and the use of the death penalty, particularly for non-violent offenses.

“The Iranian regime uses the death penalty to prolong its survival. We are dealing with a regime that is oppressive, corrupt and incompetent in solving people’s daily problems. Instilling societal fear is the regime’s only way to hold on to power, and the death penalty is its most important instrument,” said Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

“International pressure increasing the political cost of the executions can slow down the regime’s killing machine. The inconsistency in the international community’s reaction to the executions in Iran is unfortunate and sends the wrong signal to the authorities,” he added.

The number of people given capital punishment across Iran reached a 12-month high in January, with at least 35 people being sentenced to death during that month, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

As many as 86 individuals were executed in January, it added, stressing that capital punishment in Iran is “routinely imposed following trials that fall short of due process guarantees, in a judicial system that lacks transparency and impartiality, and for crimes that do not amount to the most serious crimes under international law.”