UANI Statement and Fact Sheet on Executions in Iran
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 6, 2016
Phone: (212) 922-0063
[email protected]
According to the UN, Iran "continues ... to execute more individuals per capita than any other country in the world" and executions "have been rising at an exponential rate since 2005." Not only did Iran commit a "shocking" total of 753 executions in 2014, but the regime possibly carried out more than 1,000 executions in 2015, an average of about 3 executions a day.
Said UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace:
UANI has assembled the following facts and figures about Iran's use and abuse of capital punishment:
Global Rankings
#1 Executions Per Capita (UN)
#1 Executions of Children and Child Offenders (Amnesty)
#2 Executions Overall (Human Rights Watch)
By The Numbers
957 | Executions in 2015 (IHRDC)
753 | Executions in 2014 (UN)
Victims
Iran particularly targets ethnic and religious minorities for execution:
* Sunni Muslims | * Ahwazi Arabs | * Baha'i |
* Kurds | * Baluchis | * Christian converts |
* Azerbaijanis |
Also targeted for execution:
* Political dissidents | * Homosexuals | * Children and child offenders |
* Religious dissidents
|
* Woman engaging in self-defense | * Low-level and nonviolent drug offenders |
Methods of Execution
Iran executes the majority of convicts by hanging within prisons. The regime, however, also regularly carries out executions in public. In 2015, Iran reportedly executed 57 people in public, an average of more than one public execution a week. In many of these cases, the victim is publicly hanged from a construction crane, an especially slow and painful method of execution.
Stoning also continues to be a state-sanctioned form of execution. In December, Iranian media reported that a woman had been sentenced to death by stoning for her alleged involvement in the murder of her husband.
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Eye on Iran is a news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a section 501(c)(3) organization. Eye on Iran is available to subscribers on a daily basis or weekly basis.