April 5 – A surge in executions in Iran for drug related offenses was reported by Amnesty International this week.
The human rights watchdog said the Islamic Republic had executed 853 people in 2023, of which at least 481 were executed for drug offenses.
Amnesty said the regime’s emphasis on the use of the death penalty was intended to instill fear in the population and “tighten their grip on power” following the nationwide anti-government protests in 2022.
The persecution of Baha’is in Iran by government officials was called a crime against humanity by Human Rights Watch in a report published on Monday.
The report describes the systematic oppression of Baha’is which spans decades and includes arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property and exclusion from education.
The rights body called on the international community to pressure the regime to stop its abuse of the religious minority group simply for practicing their faith.
And Pouria Zeraati, a news anchor for opposition media outlet Iran International who was stabbed by attackers in London said he would soon be returning to work.
Zeraati was approached by two men outside his home in Wimbledon and sustained a knife wound to the leg. The men then fled in a car to Heathrow airport, where they boarded a flight out of the UK within hours of the attack.
The motive for the attack has not been confirmed but a probe by UK counter-terrorism officers is now underway following ongoing threats made to the outlet by individuals believed to be connected to the Iranian regime.
