In 2023, Iran witnessed a stark surge in executions, reaching 834, the highest since 2015. Human rights groups report that the regime's actions are instilling fear and raising concerns about the state of society in the Islamic nation.
Iran has seen a dramatic increase in capital punishment numbers as pressure on the Ayatollah regime grows higher. Two rights-based groups found in their investigation that there has been a 42 percent increase in execution over the years. UN agencies as well as other champions of democracy have been silent on the issue.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty group revealed that the Iranian regime carried out the executions of 834 people last year which is the highest since 2015. Since the beginning of the 21st century, there have been only two instances when Iran carried out more than 800 executions in a single year.
The stem of the aggressive approach from the regime is said to be the September 2022 protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. The moral police arrested Mahsa Amini for not wearing a hijab. In the end, Mahsa Amini was killed in police custody by extremist officials.
This brought one of the biggest challenges to the Iranian regime as thousands all over the country marched against the authoritative regime. Many groups of protesters also attacked the Police who were at the forefront of conducting atrocities against women, minorities, and those demanding democracy.
As the protests cooled down, Tehran ordered the arrest of hundreds and hundreds of protesters. The regime acted with an iron fist to send a message to society by executing many protestors. From the 834 people executed in 2023, many also involve the minority Sunni Baluch groups whose members were hanged in drug-related cases.
The report from Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty group suggests that the number of Sunni Baluch groups was exaggeratingly high, pointing towards targeted minorities killed by the regime. The UN United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has surprisingly been silent on the controversy, sending the wrong signal to those involved.