The judiciary in the Islamic Republic has executed at least 209 people since the beginning of January, most of them for drug-related offences, according to figures released by the United Nations on Tuesday. The organization suggested that the actual number could be higher.
On Wednesday, the Iranian judicial authorities announced the execution of three people convicted of drug trafficking, a day after the United Nations condemned the “frightening” increase in the number of maximum sentences carried out in the Islamic Republic.
“The death sentence issued against three members of the Bingik gang, one of the most prominent drug cartels in the country, was carried out this morning after legal procedures,” the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online, reported.
He pointed out that “six members of this gang were arrested in 2014,” explaining that “upon arrest, a kilogram of cocaine, opium and methamphetamine was confiscated from the gang members.”
The announcement of these executions came two days after the judicial authorities confirmed the implementation of a similar verdict issued against two people on the grounds of insulting Islamic sanctities.
Iran is the second in the world in terms of the number of executions carried out, after China, according to Amnesty International figures.
Human rights organizations outside Iran have recently reported a significant increase in the number of death sentences carried out by the authorities.
According to figures published by the United Nations on Tuesday, the judiciary in the Islamic Republic has executed at least 209 people since the beginning of January, most of them for drug-related offences. The organization suggested that the actual number could be higher.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk denounced the “alarmingly high number” of executions.
“On average, since the beginning of the year, more than ten people have been executed every week in Iran, making it one of the countries with the highest number of executions in the world,” he said in a statement.
He added, “It is disturbing to see that Iran is following the same path as last year, when about 580 people were executed,” describing this outcome as “outrageous.”
Two human rights organizations reported in April that the number of death sentences carried out in the Islamic Republic during 2022 increased by 75 percent over the previous year. They indicated that Tehran executed at least 582 people in 2022, in a toll that is the highest since 2015.
