11 Executed in One Day: Iran’s Cruel Face Emerges Again

The government of Iran has once again showcased its brutal approach to capital punishment by executing 11 prisoners on Sunday. This has again been accompanied by reports of how a political prisoner was last week transferred to a solitary cell, and it sparked off fresh concern among human rights groups. The executions are raising serious questions about the record of Iran in issues of human rights as the country continues with the death penalty.

According to Norwegian rights organization Hengaw and Iranian group Halvash, seven inmates were hanged at Yazd Central Prison in central Iran, while four were executed at Zahedan Central Prison in the southeast. The prisoners were reportedly convicted on charges of murder and drug-related offenses.

Human Rights Groups Raise Alarm

Human rights groups have condemned the Iranian regime for these executions. They have reported that as many as 34 persons have been executed in various Iranian prisons from Wednesday to Sunday of the same week. One political prisoner, Saman Mohammadi-Khiyareh, has been put into solitary confinement in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on Saturday. This may signal an execution. His family has been summoned for a final visit, Iran International has reported.

When he was 19, Mohammadi-Khiyareh was arrested and charged with waging war against God for alleged "membership in anti-government groups" before receiving a death sentence.

Capital Punishment Around the World

The list also indicates that 55 countries worldwide still enforce the death penalty. According to statistics taken in 2022, China executes the most persons who are sentenced to death compared to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran not only follow capital punishment but sometimes, they even carry out executions in public, which various human rights organizations strongly discourage.