Iran Human Rights, an Iranian non-governmental organization focusing mostly on the death penalty, presented its 15th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran in Paris this week, in cooperation with ECPM, a French NGO that campaigns actively against the death penalty around the world.
The Iran Human Rights report reveals that Iran in 2022 carried out the highest annual number of executions since 2015. At least 582 people were executed, an increase of 75% compared to 2021. Iran’s authorities demonstrated how crucial the death penalty is in their effort to spread fear and hold onto power.
Here are highlights of the 2022 Annual Report:
- At least 582 people were executed in 2022, a 75% increase compared to 333 in 2021
- 71 executions (12%) were announced by official sources, compared to 16.5% in 2021 and an average of 33% in 2018-2020
- 88% of all executions included in the 2022 report, i.e. 511 executions, were not announced by the authorities
- At least 288 executions (49% of all executions) were for murder charges, the highest in more than 15 years
- At least 256 (44 %) of executions were for drug-related charges compared to 126 (38%) in 2021 and an average of 24 per year in 2018-2020
- Only 3 of the 256 drug-related executions (1.2%) were announced by official sources
- At least 23 people were executed for rape charges
- At least 15 people, among them 2 protesters, were executed for security-related charges (moharebeh and efsad-fil-arz)
- Two people, including one protester, were hanged in public spaces
- At least 3 juvenile offenders were among those executed
- At least 16 women were executed
- At least 273 executions in 2022 and more than 4,029 executions since 2010 have been based on death sentences issued by the Revolutionary Courts
At least 624 prisoners sentenced to death for murder charges were forgiven by the families of the murder victims according to the qisas laws in force in Iran.
The following is a video of the report’s presentation in Paris.
