As we enter 2021, it’s time to look back at human rights in Iran during the past year, with the help of the Iran Human Rights Monitor, and to describe the situation as bleak would be a horrific understatement.
This article will focus solely on the staggering number of executions carried out in Iran, which is the world record holder for executions per capita, executions of juvenile offenders, and executions of women.
While the death penalty can never be justified in human society for any reason, the Iranian government uses it for a variety of non-violent crimes, including using drugs, drinking alcohol, and intentionally vague ‘Muharebeh,’ waging war on God.
Human Rights Violators’ Record in 2020
In 2020, they executed at least 255 people, with just 54 of those announced by official sources. Of those executed, 198 were charged with murder, but it is important to stress the lack of due process in the justice system, which makes for unfair trials.
What’s more, Iran’s laws don’t separate murder based on degrees, which means that the death sentence is applied regardless of motive. In the case of female murderers, many were victims of violence and killed their abusers.
At least 26 of those executed were charged with drug offenses, at least 12 were political prisoners arrested during nationwide protests, and at least four were juvenile offenders.
“The collected statistics cannot depict the reality of what is going on in Iran because the highly repressive conditions do not allow access to the true data by human rights activists.
On the other hand, many executions in Iran are carried out secretly. Therefore, the actual statistics must be considered higher than those presented here,” Iran HRM wrote.
They said that the government uses the death penalty to terrorize and intimidate the Iranian people, which is just one of the reasons the regime was condemned by international human rights organizations. Iran HRM urged the United Nations to take immediate action to stop this egregious abuse.
Political Prisoners’ Executions
- April 23: Abdol-Basset Dahani was executed after making confessions under torture.
- April 11: Mostafa Salimi was hanged for taking part in a prison break following the coronavirus pandemic first coming to Iran
- May 11: Hedayat Abdollahpour was executed by a firing squad
- July 14: Diako Rasoulzadeh and Saber Sheikh Abdollah were hanged after making confessions under torture.
- August 5: Mostafa Salehi was hanged for taking part in the December 2017-January 2018 protests
- September 12: Wrestling champion, Navid Afkari, 27, was hanged for his role in the August 2018 protests
- December 12: Ruhollah Zam was executed in a crackdown on protests in prison
