US Decries Alarming Levels of Executions in Iran

The US Office of the Special Envoy for Iran has strongly condemned the increasing use of capital punishment by Iranian authorities, saying they often follow “unfair trials and arbitrary detentions.”

At least 791 individuals were executed across Iran last year, marking a 33 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) group.

Ethnic minorities were overrepresented among those executed, with more than one-fifth of those hanged being members of the mostly Sunni ethnic Baluch community, it says.

“The Iranian government’s cruelty reached new levels in 2023 with the execution of nearly 800 of its own citizens, many following unfair trials and arbitrary detentions,” US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley said on the social media network X on January 15.

“The U.S. strongly condemns Iran's use of the death penalty to target the exercise of human rights, often applied after sham trials against defendants who lacked adequate legal counsel,” he added.

The Iranian government’s cruelty reached new levels in 2023 with the execution of nearly 800 of its own citizens, many following unfair trials and arbitrary detentions. The U.S. strongly condemns Iran's use of the death penalty to target the exercise of human rights, often…

— Office of the Special Envoy for Iran (@USEnvoyIran) January 15, 2024

The Islamic Republic authorities executed at least 14 people at the weekend alone, activist groups said.

Many of them had been sentenced to death on drug-related charges.