Iran executed more than 500 people in 2022, far exceeding the number of executions in 2021 and raising concerns about the increased use of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic, the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Monday.
At least 504 people have been executed in Iran since the beginning of 2022, the NGO, which seeks to confirm other cases of convicts who were allegedly executed by hanging, told AFP.
Executions “without a fair trial”
This information comes at a time when fears are growing about the increased use of the death penalty by the Iranian authorities against those participating in the protest movement that has been shaking the country since mid-September.
The IHR tally includes four people who state media said were executed on Sunday after being found guilty of “cooperation” with Israel, the Islamic Republic’s sworn enemy.
According to the Norway-based NGO, these people were executed just seven months after their arrest, “without a fair trial, behind closed doors before the Revolutionary Court.” “Their sentences lack legal validity,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement.
“These executions are intended to sow fear in society and divert public attention from the failures of the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic,” he added.
Another recently executed person is a woman convicted of murdering her stepfather, IHR said.
A significant number of women executed
NGOs have raised concerns about the number of women executed in Iran, often convicted of killing their partners or relatives in acts of domestic violence. The number of women executed this year is already the highest in five years, notes IHR.
Iran now executes more convicts than any other country except China, reports Amnesty International, which tallied 314 executions in 2021.
Source: BFM TV
