They are the tragic sign of an aspiration for change.
Iran executed at least 834 people last year, an “alarming” increase of 43% compared to 2022 and the highest figure since 2015, according to the annual report by NGO Iran Human Rights and Together against the death penalty.
“This is the second time in 20 years that the number of executions has exceeded the threshold of 800 per year,” argue these organizations, which denounce a “terrible” exploding figure.
In 2015, without any particular explanation, the Iranian authorities carried out the execution of 972 people, recall Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), based in Paris.
In 2023, at least 22 women were executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the highest number in the last ten years.
A sign of the times, unfortunately, which testifies to the will of Iranian women through the “Woman.
Life.
Freedom.
», which has been in the making for years, to release the pressure from the mullahs on their daily lives and their destinies.
Proof of the gulf that is widening between the population, mainly young, and the religious establishment in power for 45 years: the participation rate in the legislative elections on Friday was only 41%, the lowest since the Islamic revolution of 1979. In certain constituencies, where candidates failed to obtain the required minimum of 20% of the votes cast, a second round will take place in April.
And according to certain Iranian media, the number of invalid ballots is expected to be 30%, a sign of the disillusionment, also, of the regime's supporters.
Capital punishment for 30 g of heroin, in one of the most consuming countries
A large political and social opposition movement, fueled by economic difficulties, was triggered by the death in September 2022 of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, three days after being arrested by the moral police for a veil poorly adjusted.
Her family and human rights activists maintain she was beaten to death, a claim Iranian officials deny.
Protests ensued for several weeks, and at least eight protesters were among those executed in 2023. The report does not include in its statistics "at least 551 people killed during protests or other executions." extrajudicial activities inside and outside prisons,” notes the press release.
The repression worked to undermine it and the demonstrations calmed down.
“Instilling fear in society is the only way for the regime to cling to power, and the death penalty is its most important instrument,” denounces Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHRNGO, in a press release.
The death penalty is also used to suppress non-political crime.
According to the report, at least 282 people were executed for murder and at least 471 people were executed for drug-related cases.
Iran, which has one of the highest rates of opioid users in the world, is a main route for drugs from neighboring Afghanistan to Europe and the Middle East.
Iranian law provides for the death penalty for trafficking more than 5 kg of substances derived from opium or more than 30 g of heroin, morphine, cocaine or their chemical derivatives.
“The spectacular escalation in the number of drug-related executions in 2023 is particularly worrying,” say the NGOs.
“Those executed for drug offenses belong to the most marginalized communities in society, and ethnic minorities, particularly the Baloch, are largely over-represented among those executed,” denounces the report, which suggests that the fight anti-drugs could be used as a pretext to cover up political executions.