death penalty
Amnesty: Executions in Iran to rise sharply in 2023
The Iranian authorities increased their use of the death penalty after the mass protests “to instill fear and terror in the population and consolidate their power,” according to Amnesty. photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Executions in Iran have attracted international attention in the context of nationwide protests. However, according to a report, far more people were executed last year.
The organization says that more than half of the executions last year were carried out in connection with drug-related offenses. The human rights activists also criticize the high proportion of the Baloch minority among those executed.
According to Amnesty, Iran carries the death penalty for a wide range of crimes, including financial crimes, rape and armed robbery. For the Islamic Republic, their use is also a means of combating drugs. Observers repeatedly question whether drug crimes have fallen due to the threat of the death penalty. Executions are usually carried out by hanging.
Executions for participating in demonstrations
Last year, the executions of people who took part in the nationwide demonstrations following the death of the Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022 caused international horror. According to Amnesty, this affected six men in 2023. At least seven other people have been sentenced to death in connection with the demonstrations and are in immediate danger.
The Iranian authorities increased their use of the death penalty after the mass protests “to instill fear and terror in the population and consolidate their power,” according to Amnesty. The courts also lacked independence and “routinely used ‘confessions’ obtained through torture in grossly unfair summary trials to reach guilty verdicts.”
Human rights activists have been criticizing the use of the death penalty in Iran for years. There are no official figures on executions.