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Iran: UN Experts Concerned Innocents May Have Died in Surge of Executions

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A group of United Nations human rights experts has reported “extreme concern” that innocent people may have been killed during an “alarming” surge in executions carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran last month, the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) stated in a press release on Monday (September 2).

The group of experts, which included Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, reported that Iran’s authoritarian Islamic regime executed 93 people in August, far more than the 45 executions committed by the regime in July.

August’s tally brings the number of executions in Iran to more than 400, including 15 women, the OHCHR said.

“We are deeply concerned by this sharp rise in executions. According to information received, of the 93 executions in August, only a fraction is officially reported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, highlighting the urgent need for transparency,” the experts said, according to the OHCHR statement.

Notably, 41 of the August executions were for drug offenses: executions for such offenses are prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a signatory.

“Executions for drug offenses violate international standards,” the UN experts said.

“Countries that retain the death penalty must ensure that individuals are not subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment throughout the criminal justice process,” the experts noted.

“Their right to fair trial and equality before the law and the courts must be respected in all criminal proceedings.Reports of serious violations of fair trial and due process rights mean that the death penalty as it is currently practiced in the Islamic Republic of Iran amounts to unlawful execution.”

“Wrongful executions are irreversible,” the experts reminded. “The current implementation of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran leaves us extremely concerned that innocent individuals may have been executed. We renew our appeal to Iranian authorities to halt executions of all individuals sentenced to death,” the experts concluded.