– We see that the number of executions increases when the regime needs to spread fear, says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam to news. He is the head of Iran Human Rights. They fight for basic human rights in Iran. With the human rights organization Together against the death penalty, they are behind the report which shows that the number of executions in Iran in 2022 was the highest since 2015. At least 582 people were executed last year. This is an increase of 75 per cent from the previous year, the report shows. Protesters in Tehran September 2022 after the death of Jina Masha Amini. Photo: AP Amnesty International Norway believes that this reflects the growing repression in the country. The death penalty is the regime’s way of showing its power, says Gerald Folkvord. He is a political adviser: – The Iranian authorities hold the population in an iron grip that is becoming ever tighter and more deadly. Several protesters executed After the 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police last September, demonstrations broke out throughout the country. Four protesters have been executed because of the riots. In addition, at least 547 protesters are said to have been killed in the streets, according to figures from the IHR. The authorities in Iran carried out a public execution of Majidreza Rahnavard in the city of Mashhad in December. Photo: AFP International reactions have made it difficult for Iran to execute more protesters, says Amiry-Moghaddam. Instead, the authorities have stepped up executions of those convicted of crimes other than political ones. – These become cheap victims of the Islamic Republic’s execution machine, believes Amiry-Moghaddam. According to Iranian authorities, more than 2.2 million Iranians are addicted to drugs. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi / Ap He misses greater international pressure to stop executions of drug offenders. In 2022, ten times more people were executed for drug crimes than in 2020. – Several countries, including Norway, support UN projects in Iran against drug smuggling. Therefore, they have the opportunity to pressure Iran when it comes to stopping such executions. The trend continues Amnesty sees the trend in the number of executions continuing. During the first two months of the year, they have registered over 90 executions. Most for murder or drug offences. – Many receive the death sentence in very unfair trials, with inadequate legal assistance and often based on confessions that were forced under torture, says Gerald Folkvord. Two women cry as Exile Iranians mark their support for the Iranian people after it was announced that Majidreza Rahnavard had been publicly hanged in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB In addition, the figures in the report show that ethnic minorities are overrepresented among those who are executed. 30 percent of those who have been executed are Baluch. They make up 2–6 percent of Iran’s population. – It may also be related to the fact that Baluchistan is one of the areas where demonstrations are still ongoing, says Amiry-Moghaddam. – This reflects the oppression Kurds and Baluchis are exposed to, says Folkvord. The report also shows that Iran is the country in the world that executes the most women and children. Iran’s embassy in Norway responds as follows: 2022 was a year full of many developments and events for Iran and Iranians. In the second half of the year, we saw an enormous number of attempts by anti-Iranian circles to spread unrealistic and misleading stories about both Iran’s domestic and foreign policies, we experienced continuous political interference in Iran’s internal affairs from some Western countries, under the pretext of so-called defending human rights, based on a selective approach. In that year, some Western politicians intensified their support for terrorist and separatist groups. It was a year in which the US’s inhumane sanctions against the Iranian people continued, but none of the so-called human rights defenders criticized the US’s anti-humane policy.
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Iran executed over 500 people last year – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
