In the early hours of Monday, August 21, 2023, security forces in Iran, using ropes, took the lives of 11 individuals in various prisons across the country. Among these 11 individuals whose right to life was taken away, seven of them were Baluch.
Continuing this state-sponsored murder, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 23, 2023, the government in Iran claimed the lives of three more individuals, again using ropes as the method of execution.
Therefore, on August 24, 2023, the number of executions by the Iranian regime surpassed 500. More than 500 individuals have been deprived of their right to life.
503 state-sponsored hanging murders in Iran since January 2023
The number of political executions in the Iranian prisons has reached 13. Additionally, one juvenile has been executed.
The number of executed women stands at 14, and Iran remains the leading country in the execution of women worldwide. In the previous year, Iran claimed the title of the largest executioner of women in the world by executing at least 16 women in 2022. According to Amnesty International’s report in 2022, a total of 24 women were executed worldwide, with 16 of them being in Iran.
Furthermore, among these cases, Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) and Zahedan Prison have the highest number of executions of female prisoners
Baluch citizens have the highest per capita execution rate
More than 30 percent of all executions in Iran are comprised of Baluch citizens, despite this ethnic minority making up only 5 percent of the total population of Iran. They have the highest per capita execution rate in Iran.
It is noteworthy that most of these executed Baluch individuals do not have accessible photographs, as their relatives do not have internet access to publish their pictures online. The images that are circulated often depict other Baluch citizens living in destitution and experiencing systemic and blatant injustice in Baluchistan. This has allowed the government to carry out the largest number of low-cost executions among these citizens.
It appears that the purpose of these executions is to instill fear in society and prevent protests.
The criminal Iranian regime carries out most executions among Baluch citizens, namely individuals accused of drug-related offenses who belong to the most vulnerable segments of society.
The Iran Human Rights Monitor (IranHRM) calls upon the United Nations, the European Union, and their member countries not to remain silent in the face of these executions. It condemns these government-sanctioned massacres and demands immediate and practical action to stop this bloodshed.
Silence in the face of these crimes by the Iranian regime is a violation of the most fundamental human rights and democratic standards.
