In 2024, Iran executed at least 901 individuals, marking the highest toll in nine years, according to the United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk. This total represents a 6% increase compared to 2023, when 853 people were executed. Among those executed, a significant number were reportedly sentenced for drug-related offenses, but the UN noted that political dissidents and individuals linked to the 2022 protests were also targeted.

A concerning rise in the execution of women was also highlighted in the report. This surge in executions, particularly in the latter part of the year, is seen as a deliberate tactic by the Iranian authorities to instill fear within society and suppress dissent. In December alone, around 40 people were executed in a single week.

Turk expressed deep concern over the ongoing increase in executions, emphasizing that the situation has become “deeply disturbing.” He called on Iran to take immediate action to halt the growing use of the death penalty. “It is high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of executions,” he said, stressing the urgent need for reform in the country’s human rights practices.

The UN’s report paints a grim picture of the human rights situation in Iran, with executions continuing to be used as a tool to maintain control over the population and suppress any form of opposition.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk has called on Iranian authorities to immediately halt all executions and impose a moratorium on the death penalty with the goal of eventual abolition. He emphasized that the death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and risks executing innocent individuals. Türk also noted that the death penalty should never be applied for actions protected under international human rights law.

The figures presented by the UN were sourced from several reliable organizations, including Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Iran Human Rights (IHR), and Kurdish group Hengaw. According to IHR, at least 31 women were executed in 2024—the highest number since the organization began monitoring the death penalty 17 years ago. The majority were convicted of murder or drug-related offenses.

Among the women executed, Leila Ghaemi’s case stood out. She was convicted of strangling her husband after discovering him and his friends raping her young daughter. Other women, like Parvin Mousavi, were executed for transporting what they believed was medicine but was later discovered to be morphine.

Human rights activists argue that drug-related offenses do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” under international law, which should restrict the use of the death penalty. Additionally, Hengaw reported that more than half of those executed in 2024 were from Iran’s ethnic minorities, particularly Kurds. This follows the pattern of disproportionate targeting of ethnic and religious minorities, as documented by the UN’s fact-finding mission on Iran, particularly after the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

HRANA also reported five juvenile offenders were executed in 2024, in violation of international law, which prohibits capital punishment for those under 18 at the time of their alleged crime. Iran was responsible for 74% of the global executions recorded in 2023, excluding China, where data on the death penalty is classified.

This surge in executions highlights the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran and the increasing calls for international intervention and reform.

Courtesy: WION

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