Amnesty International: Execution Rates in Iran and the Middle East Increased Sharply in 2023

In its 2024 report released on Wednesday, June 9, Amnesty International announced that the number of recorded executions worldwide reached its highest level since 2015, with a significant increase in Iran and across the Middle East. The human rights group stated that a total of 1,153 executions were recorded last year, reflecting a 30% increase compared to 2022. According to Amnesty International, this figure does not include thousands of death sentences believed to have been carried out in China due to a lack of accessible information resulting from government secrecy. The organization added that the increase in recorded executions was mainly due to Iran, where officials executed at least 853 people last year, compared to 576 the previous year. Amnesty International noted that 24 women and five individuals executed in Iran last year were minors at the time of their crimes and added that the Baluch minority disproportionately witnessed the highest number of executions. This minority constitutes 5% of Iran's population but accounts for 20% of executions. The report indicated that executions related to drug-related offenses made up 56% of the total executions in Iran, showing an 89% increase from the previous year with 255 executions. Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, stated, 'Iranian officials have escalated executions for drug-related offenses with complete disregard for human life, disproportionately impacting marginalized and impoverished individuals in Iranian society.' In its 2023 report on the human rights situation in Iran, Amnesty International also stated that the Islamic Republic has doubled the implementation of death sentences since 2022, with enforced disappearances, torture, and other inhumane, degrading, and cruel treatment being systematically carried out in the country. Although Iranian judicial authorities do not provide information about all these sentences, the Iran Human Rights Organization claims that the Islamic Republic is the world's largest executor of women, having executed at least 22 women in 2023. This organization reported that from April 17 to May 1 of this year, the Islamic Republic executed one person every five hours. According to this human rights organization, during the mentioned two weeks, 63 prisoners' death sentences were carried out in Iranian prisons. In a section of its 2024 report, Amnesty International stated that China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the United States were the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023. The execution statistics for 2023 represent the highest number recorded by Amnesty International since 2015, when 1,634 people were executed. Callamard noted that in the United States, executions increased from 18 to 24, and in some states, there was a 'disturbing trend towards the death penalty and investment of resources in taking human lives.' The report mentioned instances such as executions by firing squads in Idaho and Tennessee and the use of nitrogen gas in Alabama as a new and untested method of execution in January. However, Amnesty International stated that despite setbacks, there have also been advancements, including a reduction in the number of countries that carry out executions to 16, the lowest level since the organization began reporting.