Javid Rahman: Crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran Against Humanity Documented

Javid Rahman, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, wrote in a note that crimes against humanity, including the systematic killing and destruction of opponents as well as genocide, are among the actions carried out by the Islamic Republic, all of which have been documented. Mr. Rahman, who served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2018 to 2024, emphasized in the preface of the 2024 report by the Iran Human Rights Organization that throughout his mission, he expressed strong disgust at extrajudicial, arbitrary, and illegal executions of tens of thousands of political opponents of the regime since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization's website, Javid Rahman noted that in 1988, thousands of political prisoners fell victim to extrajudicial, arbitrary, and collective executions, and widespread enforced disappearances occurred. The former UN rapporteur added that the targeting of political prisoners and the arbitrary deprivation of the right to life continues, with six male political prisoners at serious risk of execution following trials that have been severely unfair. He also mentioned that executions in Iran are not limited to those convicted of political and security crimes, as at least 80 offenses under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran are subject to the death penalty. In Javid Rahman's note, the Islamic Republic of Iran is identified as one of the largest executors of the death penalty in the world, carrying out these actions in blatant violation of international human rights laws. The violations mentioned by Mr. Rahman include the infringement of the accused's right to a fair trial and the execution of death sentences in a manner that constitutes torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. He wrote that the arbitrary and disproportionate targeting of ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities in Iran is also noteworthy, and nearly all executions in Iran constitute the arbitrary deprivation of the right to life and a complete violation of international laws. Javid Rahman also looked at the statistics of executions in 2024, stating that these figures are extremely worrying and alarming, occurring while compelling evidence shows that the death penalty does not bring about justice or increase community security. On Thursday, February 22, two human rights organizations announced that the Iranian government executed at least 975 individuals in 2024; a figure that these two organizations claim is the highest since 2008. This report, published by the Iran Human Rights Organization in Norway and the French group 'Together Against the Death Penalty,' referred to this increase as a 'terrifying increase' in the use of the death penalty. According to Agence France-Presse, reflecting the report from these two organizations, the number of executions shows a 17% increase compared to 2023, which recorded 834 executions. Based on this report, of the total executions last year, 31 were women, and four of the executions were carried out in public. These two human rights organizations warned that the Islamic Republic of Iran uses the death penalty as a tool for political repression and instilling fear among the people, especially following the nationwide protests of 2022. The report also refers to concerns about unverified executions, stating that the actual number of executions may be higher than the recorded figures. According to these two human rights organizations, 39 executions were reported last year that they could not verify from other sources. The Iran Human Rights Organization announced that in the last three months of the current year, an average of five people have been executed daily in Iran. This organization also reported that since the beginning of the current solar year, Iran has carried out at least 121 executions. Simultaneously, according to Agence France-Presse, the French government condemned the increase in the number of executions in Iran, which has reached 975 in 2024, in the strongest terms and called on the Iranian authorities to halt the death penalty. The French Foreign Ministry stated, 'These executions are a symbol of the ruthless repression against all those who dare to express their legitimate demands for freedom.' The spokesperson for the French diplomatic service, recalling Paris's opposition to the death penalty 'anywhere in the world and under any circumstances,' urged the Islamic Republic to immediately end this trend.