Iran executed at least 901 people in 2024, U.N. reports
Iranian authorities reportedly executed 901 people last year, including about 40 in one week in December, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said: “It is deeply disturbing that we have once again seen a year-on-year increase in the number of people sentenced to death in Iran.” In comparison, at least 853 people were executed in Iran in 2023 .
“It is time for Iran to stem this swelling wave of executions,” Turk said in a statement.
Iran uses death penalty major crime Including murder, drug trafficking, rape and sexual assault.
Activists are increasingly concerned about a surge in hangings in Iran.
According to human rights groups such as Amnesty International, the Islamic Republic executes more people every year than any other country except China, for which there is no reliable data.
They blame the authorities under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei use death penalty As a tool to instill fear in society at large, especially after 2022-2023 nationwide protests.
The UN human rights office said most executions last year were for drug-related crimes, but “dissidents and people linked to the 2022 protests were also executed”.
“The number of women executed has also increased,” the office said.
At least 31 women were executed in Iran in 2024, the International Health Regulations said in a report on Monday.
Iran has not released official data on executions, but UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Trossell told reporters that the team collected data from a range of different credible human rights organizations that monitor the situation, including HRANA, Hengaw and Headquarters Iranian human rights organization based in Norway.
“We’re confident in that number,” she said.
2015 was Iran’s deadliest year for executions in recent decades, with at least 972 people executed.
The numbers have since declined following the 2017 reform of Iran’s drug laws, but Trossell warned that “the numbers have risen sharply since 2022.”
“Obviously, the numbers for 2024 are alarmingly high,” Troxell said.
Turk emphasized that his office opposes the death penalty “under all circumstances.”
“This is incompatible with the fundamental right to life and increases the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people,” he said. “And, to be clear, this approach can never be imposed on conduct protected by international human rights law.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged the Iranian authorities to halt all further executions and impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to its eventual abolition.
About 170 states have abolished the death penalty or have suspended its use.
