In brief
In 2024, Iran reportedly executed at least 901 individuals, marking a significant 6% rise from the previous year and the highest figure recorded in nearly a decade. The shocking statistics come from the UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who stated that the consecutive year-on-year increase in executions is a deeply disturbing trend. Among those executed, a notable number were targeted for drug-related offenses, while others included dissidents and activists linked to the protests that erupted in 2022. Alarmingly, there was also a reported increase in the number of women executed. Türk called for a moratorium on the death penalty in Iran, emphasizing its incompatibility with the basic human right to life and the risk of wrongfully executing innocent individuals.
While examining the data, multiple human rights organizations, such as Iran Human Rights (IHR) and HRANA, were cited as credible sources. Notably, 31 women were executed in 2024, which is the highest number documented since monitoring began 17 years ago. Among these cases, Leila Ghaemi was reported to have been convicted of murdering her husband after discovering him assaulting her daughter, while Parvin Mousavi, a woman supporting her family, was executed for unwittingly transporting a large quantity of morphine. Activists argue that such drug crimes do not meet the international legal standards required for capital punishment. Additionally, a report from the Kurdish human rights group Hengaw indicated that a significant portion of the executed individuals belonged to ethnic minorities, including 183 Kurds, underscoring the government's disproportionate crackdown on dissent against the backdrop of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests initiated in 2022. Lastly, it was documented that five juvenile offenders were executed, despite international law prohibiting capital punishment for individuals under 18 at the time of their offense, further shedding light on Iran's human rights abuses.
