Iran's number of executions reached a record high in 2024.

According to the recently published annual report on the death penalty in Iran by the Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR) and the French NGO Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM), at least 975 people were executed in 2024.

This marks a 17% increase year-on-year and the highest number in over 20 years.

"The death penalty serves as the basis for many human rights violations in Iran," Mahmud Amiri-Moghaddam, head of the Norway-based IHR, told DW.

"It is used as an instrument to oppress and intimidate society," he said.

Iranian courts impose the death penalty to punish those found guilty of serious crimes such as murder, and also for killings committed in self-defense.

Increasingly, also political activists receive this verdict.

"The regime is taking advantage of the lack of international attention to carry out as many executions as possible," Amiri-Moghaddam observed.

For example, in the last quarter of 2024, when tensions between Iran and Israel sky-rocketed, this was particularly evident: As many as six people were executed every day during this period.

"The high number of executions in Iran is deeply disturbing," also UN High........

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