Iran executions see alarming rise in 2021

By AFP/Daily Sabah

Executions in Iran rose alarmingly by 25% in 2021, a report by two leading nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) said Thursday, expressing alarm over a surge in the number of executions for drug offences and also the hanging of at least 17 women.

The rate of executions in Iran also accelerated after the June election of hardline former judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi to the presidency, said the report by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and France's Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM).

The report urged world powers negotiating with Iran on reviving the deal on its nuclear programme to put use of capital punishment in the Islamic republic – which executes more people annually than any nation other than China – at the center of the talks.

At least 333 people were executed in 2021, a 25% increase compared to 267 in 2020, said the report, based on official media but also sources inside Iran.

Meanwhile, at least 126 executions were for drug-related charges, five times higher than 2020's figure of 25.