Iran Human Rights Organization: The Execution Machine of the Islamic Republic Has Accelerated Again

On Saturday, August 4, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported in its monthly report that the execution machine of the Islamic Republic has accelerated again, stating that at least 300 individuals were executed in Iran during the first seven months of the current Gregorian year, including '42 Baluch citizens, 20 Kurds, 20 Afghans, and 15 women.' The organization noted that 172 individuals were executed on drug-related charges. The report mentioned that the implementation of death sentences in Iran relatively decreased from the death of Ebrahim Raisi until the end of the second round of elections for his succession, stating that the sentences of 36 of the executed individuals were carried out in just the last eleven days of the month. The Iran Human Rights Organization warned of the intensification of death sentences in the prisons of the Islamic Republic and called for special attention from the international community and the general public to the issue of executions in Iran. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, the director of this organization, stated: 'We are particularly concerned about a new wave of executions of civil activists and those accused of drug crimes in the coming weeks and months.' He added that only by raising the political cost through civil society protests and international pressures can this wave of executions be prevented. According to the report from the Iran Human Rights Organization, out of the 300 recorded executions this year, only 28 executions were announced in the Iranian media or through official sources, while the rest were confirmed by the Iran Human Rights Organization through at least two independent sources. Among the executed individuals, at least 172 were charged with 'drug-related' offenses, 110 with 'murder,' 15 with charges of corruption on earth, waging war against God, and rebellion, including 5 charged with 'espionage for Israel,' 5 with connections to 'Sunni groups,' 5 with 'political or security' charges, and 3 with 'rape' charges. A statement from five civil and professional organizations against executions called for the inhumane sentences against Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi to be revoked. A statement from over 470 cultural, social, and political activists urged the execution apparatus to be stopped. A letter from Vida Rabani from Evin stated that the gap between arrest and the delivery of the accused to the judiciary could be filled with any violence. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic accused three protesting citizens in Boukan of 'corruption on earth' and 'waging war.'