Iran’s number of executions reached a record high in 2024.
According to the recently published annual report
on the death penalty in Iran by the Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR) and the French NGO Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM), at least 975 people were executed in 2024.
This marks a 17% increase year-on-year and the highest number in over 20 years.
“The death penalty serves as the basis for many human rights violations in Iran,” Mahmud Amiri-Moghaddam, head of the Norway-based IHR, told DW.
“It is used as an instrument to oppress and intimidate society,” he said.
Iranian courts impose the death penalty to punish those found guilty of serious crimes such as murder, and also for killings committed in self-defense.
Increasingly, also political activists receive this verdict.
“The regime is taking advantage of the lack of international attention to carry out as many executions as possible,” Amiri-Moghaddam observed.
For example, in the last quarter of 2024, when tensions between Iran and Israel sky-rocketed, this was particularly evident: As many as six people were executed every day during this period.
“The high number of executions in Iran is deeply disturbing,” also UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned in late January.
According to his office, around 40 people were executed in one week in December 2024.
Also the number of female executions reached its highest level since 2007, with 31 cases recorded in 2024.
Some of the women executed had killed their husbands to defend themselves against rape or after being forced into marriage.
One woman killed her husband to protect her daughter from sexual abuse, Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, told news agencies.
Calls for an end to the death penalty
Renowned human rights activists, including Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who is currently on prison leave for health reasons, have repeatedly called for protests against the rising number of executions.
In a video obtained by DW, activists gathered in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on February 19.
With this rally, the activists demonstrated their solidarity with those in prison who protest against the death penalty on a weekly basis.
A few months ago, prisoners launched the “Tuesdays without executions” campaign to protest against executions once a week.
Mahmud Amiri-Moghaddam dubbed this movement as a significant social change. “For the first time in Iran’s history, prisoners are leading a protest movement against the death penalty. This could be the beginning of a broader social movement,” he said.
In addition to Narges Mohammadi, other prominent figures joined the protest.
In a joint statement, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iran’s famous lawyer, and religious scholar Sedighe Vasmaghi strongly condemned the death sentences against female political prisoners. “These sentences are a clear revenge on the protest movement with the slogan ‘Women, Life, Freedom,'” the women wrote.
A total of 228 Iranian lawyers criticized proceedings against the Iranian activists Pakhsan Azizi, Varisheh Moradi (Mirzaei) and Sharifeh Mohammadi in an open letter to the head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei as grossly unfair.
Those three women were arrested for their participation in political protests and sentenced to death in fast-track trials.
In the letter obtained by DW, the signatories emphasize that they are not only acting as lawyers, but also out of human responsibility.
“These sentences not only violate Islamic and humanitarian values, but also Iran’s international obligations to the right to life and to a fair trial,” they stated.
‘Death penalty at the center of diplomatic negotiations’
Therefore, the human rights watchdogs Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR) and the French NGO Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM) call on the international community to prioritize diplomatic talks on executions in Iran.
“Liberal democratic states must condemn this wave of executions and support the growing resistance in Iran against the death penalty,” they said.
“We need to find short and long-term ways to put pressure on the Iranian government and bring about changes in the law,” also IHR’s Amiri-Moghaddam told DW.
The high number of executions for drug offenses is also causing widespread concern.
Of the 975 executions in 2024, 503 involved drug-related offenses.
However, despite this alarming trend, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) continues to work with Iranian authorities.
In turn, human rights organizations demand that the UNODC step up its efforts to ensure that drug-related crimes are no longer punishable by death or that the UN body ends its cooperation with the Islamic Republic.
Source » dw