Iran Human Rights Organization Calls for International Action to Stop Executions in Iran

The Iran Human Rights Organization has called for international action to halt the execution process in Iran by the Islamic Republic. This human rights body made the demand on Friday, May 18, during the "UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice" meeting in Vienna, Austria. Kambiz Ghafouri, a journalist and human rights activist, emphasized the necessity for global action, particularly from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, to stop executions in Iran. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the Islamic Republic executed 71 individuals in April, including 44 prisoners accused of "drug-related crimes," between the 2nd and 21st of Farvardin. In an interview with Voice of America, Kambiz Ghafouri compared the recent wave of drug-related executions in Iran to a "massacre or genocide of prisoners," stating, "The execution of 471 individuals in 2023 is a massacre, and the international community should not tolerate this gross violation of human rights." This human rights activist pointed out the collaboration of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime with the Islamic Republic, stating, "We asked this office to condition any cooperation in this regard on an immediate halt to executions" and added, "Countries that fund UN projects in Iran should pressure the Islamic Republic by threatening to cut financial aid and demand a stop to executions in Iran." The protest by Iranian activists in Vienna entered its 600th day on Friday. Hassan Naib Hashem, a human rights activist and one of the organizers of this long-term sit-in, assessed the continuation of this protest as a means to raise international awareness about human rights violations in Iran. According to Mr. Naib Hashem, the protesters have been able to display images of many victims, including children, those with eye injuries, political prisoners, and death row inmates over these 600 days. Human rights violations by the Islamic Republic, manifested in the escalation of executions and increased pressure on critics and government opponents, have always been criticized by human rights activists. In another part of his remarks to Voice of America, Hassan Naib Hashem spoke about the impact of such protest actions, stating, "The most important international demand was the formation of a fact-finding committee, which fortunately we achieved along with other human rights defenders in Geneva, New York, and other countries on the 60th day of our sit-in." He added, "Our second international goal after achieving the initial objective was to expel the Islamic Republic from the Commission on the Status of Women, which we worked towards since the Islamic Republic's entry into this commission in its current session, and we reached this goal on the 80th day of our sit-in along with the activities of other human rights defenders, especially in New York and Geneva." This human rights activist further added, "Alongside these international goals, minimal solidarity with our loved ones in Iran who were dying in the streets compelled us to endure some cold, storms, and blizzards in exchange for the bullets hitting their bodies, and to continue their movement here as well, because without continuity, no protest movement bears fruit, just as the protests in the Arab Spring in the squares of those countries and in Ukraine and other countries led to successful transformations at those moments."