Iran Executes 841 People Throughout This Year

UNSPLASH/Sina Drakhshani ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Iranian authorities executed 841 people so far this year, marking a significant increase.

One hundred people were executed in July, more than double the number of people executed in July last year, according to the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights.

They include women, Afghan citizens, and ethnic minorities such as residents of Bloch, Kurdish, and Arabs.

"The high number of executions shows a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a means of intimidation of the country and repression of any dissent," UN lead spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

Shamdasani said OHCHR had observed disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants sentenced to death.

Iran has ignored various calls to join the global movement towards the abolition of the death penalty, Shamdasani said.

Eleven people are currently facing immediate executions, six of whom have been charged with "armed rebellion", OHCHR said. Five others face the death penalty for their participation in the 2022 protests.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk called on Iran to temporarily suspend the implementation of the death penalty as a step towards the elimination of the total use of the death penalty.