'Sites of Mass Killings': Iran Executed Record 853 in 2023, Says Amnesty

The Islamic Republic's authorities executed at least 853 people in 2023, the highest number in eight years, Amnesty International reports. 

The Iranian authorities have persisted with their state-sanctioned killing spree which has turned prisons into "sites of mass killings," Amnesty said. 

In 2023, there was a 48 percent increase compared to the previous year, with drug-related charges accounting for 56 percent of the executions, as per the report.

Two other NGOs, Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), published a report last month giving the slightly lower figure of 834 people executed in 2023.

At least 481 executions, accounting for more than half, were for drug offenses; these were carried out under the guise of fighting drug trafficking.

Discriminatory practices are also highlighted in the report. 

While the Baluch minority makes up only five percent of Iran's population, they suffered a disproportionate share of drug-related executions: 29 percent or 138 people.

The report suggests that the Iranian government intensified executions during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests to instill fear among the population. 

Amnesty International emphasizes that these numbers likely underestimate the true scale of the problem, as many executions, particularly for drug offenses and security charges, are carried out in secrecy.

"The death penalty is abhorrent in all circumstances but deploying it on a mass scale for drug-related offenses after grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts is a grotesque abuse of power," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.