Rights Watchdog Raises Concern Over Dramatic Surge In Executions In Iran

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2023) A prominent international human rights organization on Friday raised concern over the alarming increase in the number of death penalties handed down by the Iranian authorities, saying that at least 60 people had been executed in Iran over the past two weeks.

"Since late April, the Iranian authorities have executed at least 60 people, including an Iranian-Swedish national on alleged terror-related charges," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

The watchdog argued that many of those executed had stood "unfair trials" or had been sentenced to death for such charges as "blasphemy" and "belittling the Quran" that under international law "should never result in the death penalty."

"Iranian authorities are apparently using executions, an inhumane punishment, following unfair trials as a show of force against its own people, who are demanding fundamental change. The international community should unequivocally condemn this terrifying trend and press Iranian officials to halt these executions," Tara Sepehri Far, a senior expert on Iran at Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying in the statement.

In addition, Human Rights Watch said that a great number of death sentences issued by Iranian courts had been related to drug offenses. Thus, the prescribed executions violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party, since under the document, drug offenses are not among the "most serious crimes" that can be punished with the death penalty, the statement read.