Iran: more than 1,000 executions by 2024
- A tool of repression in the service of the regime
- Executions under Pezeshkian's presidency
- Alarming increase in executions of women and minorities
- The pretext of drug-related crime
- Amputations and social injustice
- Tuesday campaign: No to the death penalty
- The barbarity of stoning
Executions in 2024 were 16% higher than the 864 recorded in 2023. According to Amnesty International, Iran alone was responsible for about 74% of the world's executions in 2023.
A tool of repression in the service of the regime
According to the NCRI statement, the sharp increase in executions in 2024 is directly linked to the deep crises and successive failures of the regime. Eleven per cent of executions took place in the first quarter and 17 per cent in the second quarter, periods marked by the regime's preparations for two elections: the legislative elections in February and the presidential elections in June.
25% of executions took place in the third quarter. However, in the fourth quarter, at a time when the regime was suffering major regional setbacks and facing a worsening economic and social crisis, the pace of executions increased at an unprecedented rate: 47% of the prisoners executed in 2024 were executed during this period.
Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian opposition and president-elect of the NCRI, denounced these practices and called for any negotiations or agreements with the regime to be conditional on an end to executions and torture. She stated:
‘The 2024 wave of barbaric executions, especially the one last autumn, is a desperate attempt by Khamenei to contain the uprisings of an enraged people, who will settle for nothing less than the total overthrow of this regime.’
Executions under Pezeshkian's presidency
Since 30 July, when Massoud Pezeshkian came to power as president, 695 executions have been carried out, almost 70% of the annual total.
In a speech on 8 October, Pezeshkian cynically defended these acts, stating:
‘Those who talk about human rights ask why a murderer is executed.’
Alarming increase in executions of women and minorities
Among the victims of the 2024 executions were 34 women and seven minors, executed for crimes they allegedly committed before the age of 18. The average age of the 491 identified victims was 36 years.
The Baluch, a marginalised and oppressed ethnic minority, are particularly targeted. Among those executed, 119 Baluch prisoners were identified, a figure disproportionate to their share of the national population.
In addition, 4 public executions were carried out with extreme brutality, aimed at spreading terror in society.
The pretext of drug-related crime
More than half of the victims (502 inmates) were executed for drug-related crimes. However, recent revelations have shown that the Revolutionary Guards themselves run huge drug trafficking networks, generating revenues of tens of billions of dollars. Some of these criminal activities came to light after the fall of the Syrian regime, but most remain hidden.
Amputations and social injustice
Another common atrocity is cutting off the fingers of ‘thieves’. The fingers of two brothers imprisoned in Oroumieh and those of two others detained in Qom were amputated. Meanwhile, the embezzlement of billions of dollars by the regime's leaders and their corruption networks has become standard practice, without any of the culprits being arrested or punished.
The only human rights ‘breakthrough’ in 2024 was announced on the official website Asr-e Iran: the judiciary now authorises anaesthesia before amputating the limbs of people convicted of theft.
Tuesday campaign: No to the death penalty
For the past 49 weeks, a campaign entitled ‘No to death penalty’ has been running every Tuesday, the day on which most executions are carried out.
The campaign has gained widespread support among prisoners, and prisoners in 28 prisons have participated in the campaign by going on hunger strike.
Internationally, more than 250 British MPs from both Houses, representing all major political parties, have expressed their support for the movement. They strongly condemned the unprecedented increase in executions in Iran and called for an immediate halt to them.
The barbarity of stoning
In its latest report, the ‘No to Death Penalty’ movement denounces another atrocity: the sentencing to death by stoning of several female prisoners in Qarchak prison on charges of extramarital affairs. At best, these sentences could be commuted to execution by hanging.
The statement concludes: ‘We strongly believe that silence in the face of such atrocities is tantamount to condoning them. It is essential that we stand up against this barbarism and cruelty’.
The year 2024 marks a dark turning point in the Iranian regime's repression. Far from being a measure of justice, executions are being used as a political weapon to maintain a regime mired in an existential crisis. In this situation, the courage of Iranian prisoners, activists and the global movement for the abolition of the death penalty is a powerful reminder that the struggle for human rights and justice cannot be silenced.