Iran Human Rights Organization: 354 Executions in Six Months; World Community Must Break Silence

On Tuesday, July 3, the Iran Human Rights Organization released a report stating that at least 354 individuals, including 71 Baloch citizens, were executed in Iran during the first six months of the current year. The report indicated a 36% increase in executions compared to the same period last year when 261 Iranian citizens were executed by the Islamic Republic. The Iran Human Rights Organization expressed concern over the 'acceleration of the execution machine of the Islamic Republic' and urged members of the global community to 'break their silence and condemn the massacre of citizens [in Iran] by the government, and to work to save the lives of those sentenced to death in Iran.' According to the report, 206 of the executed individuals were charged with drug-related offenses, while 122 others were accused of 'premeditated murder,' four were charged with 'rape,' five were executed in connection with nationwide protests, two were accused of 'insulting the Prophet,' and one was charged with 'espionage.' Recently, a dual Swedish-Iranian citizen was also executed. The Iran Human Rights Organization reported that only 43 cases (12%) of the executions were announced by the official media of the Islamic Republic, while the rest were confirmed through at least two independent sources. Six of the executed individuals were women. Although Baloch people make up only 2 to 6 percent of the country's total population, they accounted for 20 percent of all executions (i.e., 71 individuals). Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his latest report to the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, called for an immediate halt to executions and the release of detainees. Additionally, Iranians protested in 19 cities worldwide with the slogan 'Uprising Against Executions.' The UN Human Rights Council emphasized that the human rights situation in Iran has worsened.