The count, kept by the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), is chilling. At least 504 people have been executed in Iran since the beginning of 2022, says the organization, which seeks to confirm other cases of convicts who were allegedly executed by hanging.
This information comes as fears are growing about the increased use of capital punishment by the Iranian authorities against those involved in the protest movement that has shaken the country since mid-September.
The IHR tally includes four people who, according to state media, were executed on Sunday after being convicted of “cooperation” with Israel, the Islamic Republic’s sworn enemy.
Number of women executed on the rise
According to the NGO based in Norway, these people were executed just seven months after their arrest, “without a fair trial, behind closed doors before the Revolutionary Court”. “Their sentences lack any legal validity,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a a statement.
Another person recently executed is a woman convicted of murdering her stepfather, IHR said. Several NGOs have expressed concern about the number of women executed in Iran, often convicted of killing partners or relatives in domestic violence. The number of women executed this year is already the highest in five years, notes IHR.
Iran now executes more convicts than any other country except China, reports Amnesty International, which counted 314 executions in 2021.