Iran carried out highest number of executions in decades

However, last year saw the highest number of recorded executions in the Islamic Republic for 36 years, with an average of four per day, according to the report by IHR and EPCM.They say 795 of the 1,639 people hanged were convicted of drug-related offences, a 58% increase compared to 2024, and that 747 were convicted of murder, which was a 79% increase. Another 37 people were convicted of rape.At least 48 women were executed, which was a 55% increase compared to 2024 and the highest number recorded in more than 20 years. The NGOs say ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups were disproportionately represented among those executed.And just over half of the executions were based on sentences handed down by Revolutionary Courts after what the NGOs describe as "grossly unfair trials and without due process".IHR and EPCM warn that, if the Islamic Republic "survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression".At least 16 people sentenced to death in connection with the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests remain at risk of execution, the NGOs say.Twenty-seven others have been sentenced to death over the protests at the start of this year, while hundreds more are facing charges carrying the death penalty.