The Iranian authorities ten people have been executed convicted on charges of murder and drug trafficking, according to the non-governmental organization Hangawwhich has stated that the executions took place on Wednesday in the Ghezel Hesar and Miandoab prisons.
Thus, he stated in a statement that four were executed in Ghezel Hesar after their conviction for murder, while another four were executed in these same facilities on drug charges.
On the other hand, two other people, supposedly of Turkish nationality, were executed in the central prison of Mindoab after being sentenced by a local court on murder charges, without the authorities having commented on the matter.
The organization Amnesty International stated in April that the Iranian authorities executed in 2023 853 personas, a maximum in the last eight years. A total of 481 of these people had been convicted of drug crimes.
In November, the Iranian regime executed at least eleven people in a single day different cities, including Yasuj, Tabriz, Zahedan and Rasht. Among the victims is a woman, in a day that demonstrated the widespread use of the death penalty in Iran and which has generated deep concerns among human rights organizations.
The sentences handed down respond to crimes related to drugs and homicidesand are part of an increasingly aggressive campaign by the Iranian authorities in their attempt to deter crime and consolidate internal control.
Executions in Iran have increased by 75% in the two years since the death of the young Mahsa Amini, which triggered the protests known by the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, according to the NGO denounced this Monday Iran Human Rights (YOURNGO).
At least 1,425 people have been executed since September 16, 2022, almost double the number in the two years before the protests, when 815 executions were recorded, the Oslo-based organization said in a statement.
The application of capital punishment for drug-related crimes increased by even 162% in that period, from 302 to 796 after the start of the protests against the regime.
Executions related to political positions such as those of “rebellion”, “corruption on earth” or “enmity towards God” They also increased by 84%, from 31 to 57.
IHRNGO in this context called on the international community to investigate the use of the death penalty in Iran as part of the repression of the protests of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.
“The death penalty is the most important tool of the Islamic Republic when it comes to creating fear in society with the aim of suppressing protests and preventing new protests,” declared the director of the organization, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.
Amini’s death after being arrested by the Morality Police for not wearing the Islamic veil sparked a wave of unprecedented protests against the Islamic Republic, led by young people and women.
According to IHRNGO, which claims to have a large network of sources in Iran, at least 551 protesters, including 68 minors and 49 women, were killed by police during the protests.
(With information from EP and EFE)
