The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Türk, has issued a strong plea to the Iranian authorities, calling for the abolition of the death penalty or an immediate halt to all executions.
Türk’s statement, released on Tuesday, highlighted the “frightening” number of executions in Iran this year.
He emphasized that the majority of these executions were related to drug offenses, which he deemed incompatible with international human rights norms and standards.
Iran, according to Türk, has become one of the world’s leading executors, with over 10 people being put to death every week.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) cited sources indicating that at least 209 individuals have been executed since the beginning of the year.
Disturbingly, minorities are disproportionately represented on Iran’s death row, with recent reports indicating that 45 individuals, including 22 from the Baluch minority, were executed in just the past 14 days.
The UN rights chief further highlighted that the majority of these executions were carried out for drug-related charges.
Türk expressed grave concern that Iran is on track to match last year’s abominable record, where an estimated 580 executions were reported.
He underscored that such figures are deeply troubling, especially given the global consensus favoring the universal abolition of the death penalty.
The OHCHR stressed that only a small number of countries still impose and apply the death penalty.
Recent incidents have added to the mounting concerns regarding Iran’s human rights record.
On Saturday, Habib Chaab, a Swedish-Iranian citizen from the Ahwazi Arab minority, was executed on charges of “corruption on earth,” a capital offense under Iran’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Also, Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were reportedly executed for crimes including blasphemy, according to OHCHR reports on Monday.
