Executions in Iran reached an eight-year high in 2023, according to a new report by Amnesty International.
Last year, 853 executions were carried out in Iran, with at least 481 executions for drug convictions, according to a report released by the organization on April 4.
"The death penalty is abhorrent in all circumstances, but to apply it en masse for drug-related offenses after grossly unfair trials before the Revolutionary Court is a grotesque abuse of power," said Diana Eltahavi, Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"The Islamic Republic's deadly anti-narcotics policy contributes to the cycle of poverty and systemic injustice and further reinforces discrimination against marginalized communities, especially the oppressed Iranian (Baluch) minority," Eltahavi added.
Amnesty's report also accused the government of using the death penalty as a weapon against dissident protesters and members of oppressed ethnic minorities and called for a "strong global response" and pressure on Tehran to impose a moratorium on the death penalty.
After a wave of protests swept Iran in the second half of 2022, writes Amnesty, "Iranian authorities also intensified the use of the death penalty as a weapon to suppress dissent."
The number of executions in Iran in 2023 was the highest since 2015 and 172 percent higher than in 2021, when Ebrahim Raisi became president and Gholamhosein Izhi was appointed head of the judiciary, Amnesty said in the report.
The Iranian government does not publish official statistics on the number of executions, and Amnesty worked with Iranian human rights groups to document the cases, using open sources such as state media and human rights organizations.
At least 95 executions were reported in 2024 through March 20, the rights group said, adding that it believed the actual number of executions in Iran was higher.
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