In 2023, Iran has witnessed a staggering increase in executions, with over 400 individuals, including 15 women, executed this year alone. This alarming trend has drawn sharp criticism from UN experts, who express deep concern over the spike, particularly in August when at least 81 executions were reported. The UN experts, comprising six Special Rapporteurs and five members of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, have emphasized that nearly half of these executions are related to drug offenses, which they deem as violations of international standards.
The UN experts reiterate that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory, limits the death penalty to the 'most serious crimes,' primarily intentional homicide. Despite previous legal revisions aimed at curbing the death penalty for drug-related offenses, the execution rates have surged since 2021. This has raised alarms about the Iranian government's use of capital punishment as a means of intimidation against the protest movements ignited by the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.
The case of Reza Rasaei, a Kurdish protester executed on August 6, underscores these concerns. Rasaei was sentenced to death based on a confession allegedly obtained under torture, and despite the withdrawal of testimonies from co-defendants and conflicting evidence from a forensic pathologist, the Supreme Court upheld his sentence. The UN has consistently called for a moratorium on executions in Iran, advocating for the eventual abolition of the death penalty.
