Iran Executed 975 People in 2024, Human Rights Organizations Report

iran - Human rights organizations reveal that Iran executed at least 975 individuals in 2024, marking the highest number in the past 17 years.

Iran's Alarming Execution Rates in 2024

Norwegian-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and French Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) disclosed that Iran carried out a minimum of 975 executions in 2024, the highest figure since IHR began monitoring executions in Iran in 2008. The human rights groups emphasized that these executions are part of a strategy to maintain power and are used as a political tool. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director of IHR, stated that the executions are a part of a war the Iranian Islamic Republic is waging against its own people, with an average of 5 people executed daily in the last 3 months of a year that saw heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. The report highlighted that among the 975 executed, 4 were publicly hanged, and 31 were women.

Connection to 2022 Protests

Human rights organizations officials noted that Iran, following China, ranks as the country with the second-highest number of executions globally. They accused Iran of using the death penalty to instill fear among the populace, particularly after nationwide protests erupted in 2022. The death sentences encompass crimes such as murder, rape, drug offenses, as well as vague charges like 'spreading corruption on Earth' and 'insurrection' used against activists and dissidents. Most executions in recent years have been carried out in prison yards or public spaces by hanging. Two executions in the past year were linked to the 2022 nationwide protests that followed Mahsa Amini's death. Mohammad Ghobadlu, aged 23, was executed in January 2024 under the accusation of killing a police officer during a protest in October 2022. Gholamreza Rasaei, aged 34, was secretly executed in August for killing a Revolutionary Guard during a protest in 2022.