Iran exploiting global focus on Israel-Hamas war to carry out 'unprecedented' number of executions

Iran has reportedly escalated executions with more than 700 carried out in 2023 alone, including 176 since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7. Iran Human Rights (IHR) raised concerns about the heightened risk faced by political prisoners and protesters since Israel launched a military offensive on Gaza after the Hamas attack. Other human rights organizations, including Hengaw and Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), also confirmed a significant increase in executions. IHR has urged Western countries, particularly European nations to denounce the executions and break their silence on the matter. It also emphasised the need to address the arbitrary execution of over three individuals daily by the Iranian government. The organisation highlighted a record of 707 executions in 2023 alone, including children and women, marking an unprecedented figure in the last eight years, according to reports. Human rights advocates argue that Iran is exploiting the global focus on the Gaza conflict to target dissidents, executing individuals without proper judicial processes. “Since the start of the war, there has been little international focus on the human rights situation in Iran, and there has been no substantial response to the significant increase in executions,” he added, according to the Guardian. In the last two months, Iran executed individuals including 17-year-old Hamidreza Azari, accused of murder based on a forced confession. Milad Zohrevand, the eighth protester linked to the Women, Life, Freedom movement, was also executed for participating in anti-government protests. The UN condemned Zohrevand’s execution, citing a trial lacking due process. Tehran also executed Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi, accusing them of “war against god” for their involvement in protests. Human rights groups allege police torture to extract confessions. In October, the UN expressed concern, saying that Iran executed people at an “alarming rate,” with 419 killed between January and July 2023, marking a 30% increase from the same period in 2022.