In Two Decades, 77% of Executions of 'Child Offenders' Worldwide Were Carried Out by the Islamic Republic

The Iran Human Rights Organization announced in its annual report on 'Executions in Iran' that between 1999 (1377) and 2022 (1400), 77% of the executions of 'child offenders' in the world, amounting to 105 executions out of at least 136 cases, were carried out by the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic has also been the only country in the past decade to execute child offenders every year. The Iran Human Rights Organization states that the execution of children in Iran by the Islamic Republic can be stopped with 'coordinated and stronger pressure from the international community.' In 2024, the Islamic Republic executed at least 975 people, of which only 95 cases, or less than 10%, were officially announced. The number of executions in Iran, as recorded by human rights organizations, was 834 in 2023, indicating a 17% increase over the previous year. In 2024, charges related to drug offenses (52%) and murder (43%) accounted for over 95% of all executions. The annual report of the Iran Human Rights Organization highlights multiple instances of human rights violations in the execution of death sentences by the Islamic Republic, one of which is 'public executions.' The Islamic Republic, which had temporarily halted public executions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed this practice with 2 cases in 2022, 7 cases in 2023, and four cases in 2024. The Iran Human Rights Organization has called for an 'increase in the political cost' of public executions by countries that have diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic. Another issue addressed in this report is 'qisas' for murder, which, under the Islamic Republic's laws, is considered a 'red line' to be removed as long as the penal code is based on Sharia. In 2024, the Islamic Republic executed at least 419 people on murder charges, the highest number in over two decades. In this context, the lack of distinction between intentional and unintentional murder, the absence of a ceiling for blood money rates, short prison sentences for defendants who have been forgiven by the complainant, and the lack of opportunities for civil society organizations to promote forgiveness in society are among the issues that the Iran Human Rights Organization believes can reduce executions related to 'qisas' if addressed appropriately. The annual report of the Iran Human Rights Organization indicates a 'meaningful correlation' between the timing of executions and political events; for example, after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and global attention to the escalating tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel, executions peaked. This human rights organization considers the 'lack of fair judicial procedures' to be the biggest obstacle to progress in human rights conditions, particularly regarding the death penalty in Iran. On Wednesday, March 15, the Iran Human Rights Organization also reported that in the past month, from January 13 to March 10, at least 74 people, including several Afghan, Kurdish, and Baluch citizens, were executed. This figure represents an increase of more than eight times compared to the same period last year. The women’s section of Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz joined the 'No to Executions' campaign on Tuesdays. A statement from 30 human rights organizations declared that the death penalty in Iran must be abolished. On International Women’s Day, at least 30 women were executed by the Islamic Republic within a year. Eight more executions occurred in Iran; observers noted that the 'killing machine' is operating non-stop.