UN Rapporteurs Urge Iran to Stop Executions

Juan Mendez, UN Photo, (c) Mark Garten; Ahmed Shaheed, UN Photo, (c) Evan Schneider; Cristof Heyns, UN Photo, (c) Paulo Filgueiras (from shaheedoniran.org)

In a statement released today, several UN Special Rapporteurs called on Iran to urgently halt the surge in executions that has been ongoing in Iran since the beginning of 2014.

According to the website of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed, “At least 40 persons have been reportedly hanged in the first two weeks of January, of which at least 33 executions were carried out in the past week alone. 625 executions, including at least 28 women and a number of political prisoners were reported to have been carried out in 2013.”

“The persistent execution of individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of assembly, association, and affiliation to minority groups contravenes universally accepted human rights principles and norms,” Shaheed said.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has repeatedly called on Iranian authorities to stop executions, joining with other human rights organizations and the United Nations in doing so. Iran consistently has one of the highest execution rates in the world.

“We once more urge the Government of Iran, as an active member of the international community, to heed the calls for a moratorium on executions, especially in cases relating to political activists and alleged drug-offences,” the Special Rapporteurs said in their statement.