UN Condemns Surge in Executions in Iran

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has voiced deep concern over the recent spate of executions in Iran.

According to reports, Iranian authorities have executed at least 29 people across the country in a short period, following 38 executions in July.

This brings the reported number of executions to at least 345 this year, including 15 women.

"Those executed were primarily convicted of drug-related offenses or murder. Nearly half of the executions since the beginning of 2024 were for drug-related offenses," said Volker Türk on Friday.

"Imposing the death penalty for offenses not involving intentional killing is incompatible with international human rights norms and standards, as we have repeatedly emphasized.

"We also have recurring concerns about the lack of due process and fair trial standards in many of these cases. Several executions were carried out with neither the prisoner’s family nor legal counsel being informed.

"Minorities, including Kurds, Ahwazi Arabs, and Baluchis, continue to be disproportionately affected by these executions.

"It is time for Iran to join the growing consensus worldwide towards universal abolition, by imposing a moratorium on executions, with a view to ultimately abolishing the death penalty," he added in a statement.

According to a report by Amnesty International, Iran has reached its highest level of death sentence executions in the last eight years, with the Islamic Republic's judiciary executing 853 people in 2023 alone.

The report indicates that 481 executions - more than half of the total - were related to drug crimes. This marks an 89 percent rise in death penalties for drug-related offenses compared to 2022 when 255 people were executed.

The latest numbers also show a staggering 264 per cent spike compared to 2021, when 132 individuals faced execution on similar charges.