Iran more than doubled the number of state executions it has carried out this year compared to data from the first half of 2024, confirmed the United Nations on Monday.
The UN Human Rights Office said that at least 612 people have been executed this year alone, a figure more than double the 297 people who were killed during the same time period last year.
Minority groups continue to make up a disproportionate number of those being killed by Tehran, confirmed the U.N.
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“It is alarming to see the reports that indicate there are at least 48 people currently on death row – 12 of whom are believed to be at imminent risk of execution,” U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said on Monday.
The news of the drastically increased number of state executions comes just one day after Tehran killed Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani on Sunday, both of whom were allegedly involved with the opposition movement known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a dissident group based in Paris led by the MEK, took to X to condemn the killings, and quoted the final words of Behrouz Ehsani: “We will never—under any circumstances—surrender to this bloodthirsty and criminal regime. Never shall we bow to humiliation.”
According to Amnesty International, “[both] were executed arbitrarily amid Iran’s horrific execution crisis.”
“Their executions highlight the authorities’ use of the death penalty as a tool of repression in times of national crisis to crush dissent and spread fear,” the group added.
More than 40% of those executed this year were convicted on drug-related offenses, while the U.N. also found that many were not only tried behind closed doors, but were issued vague charges like “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth” — both of which are apparently used by the regime to “silence dissent.”
“Information received by my Office also indicates that judicial proceedings in a number of cases, often held behind closed doors, have consistently failed to meet due process and fair trial guarantees,” Türk said in a statement.
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The number of state executions has drastically escalated since President Massoud Pezeshkian took office in July 2024, with at least 975 people killed in 2024, the highest rate since 2015.
The U.N. body further warned that Iran is looking to expand its use of the death penalty and is reviewing a new espionage bill that will redefine what it considers “collaboration with hostile States.”
Acts including online communication and collaborating with the foreign media will apparently call into question their “ideological alignment” and will be punishable by death.
The changes come as Israel has called for a regime change in Tehran, and has repeatedly emphasized that the recent strikes were an attack against the government, not the Iranian people.
“This bill dangerously broadens the scope of capital punishment for espionage, and I call for it to be rescinded,” Türk said. “The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity.
“Instead of accelerating executions, I urge Iran join the worldwide movement abolishing capital punishment, starting with a moratorium on all executions,” he added.
