Title: Alarming Increase in Executions in Iran During Festive Season
Iran, already among the world’s top executioners, is witnessing a stark rise in the number of people put to death, particularly during the holiday season. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, a Norwegian-Iranian neuroscientist and professor at the University of Oslo, who is also the leader of Iran Human Rights (IHR), a human rights organization monitoring executions in Iran, expressed his concerns in an interview with Nettavisen.
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Meta Description: Iran sees a surge in executions during the holiday season, worrying rights activists led by Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of Iran Human Rights and the University of Oslo.
Iran’s festive period is often marked by both concern and anxiety for those working to abolish the death penalty. Iran Human Rights, which has been monitoring Iranian executions for years, believes the regime deliberately uses this time to carry out ‘controversial’ executions—henrettelse av politiske fanger or those sentenced to death for crimes committed as minors.
Last year, Iran executed 314 people, including 18 minors, according to Iran HR. The regime’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, admitted that more than 55% of these executions were for drug-related offenses. However, Amiry-Moghaddam fears that the number of political executions and executions of minors will increase during the holiday season.
"It’s typical to see several political prisoners executed within a short period during the holidays," Amiry-Moghaddam said. "We’re particularly concerned that this trend could increase in the near future."
Iran has executed numerous political prisoners and juvenile offenders in the past, with many cases gaining international attention. However, Amiry-Moghaddam cautions that the regime may use the reduced international spotlight during the holiday season to carry out more executions without significant backlash.
"We’ve seen this pattern before, where controversial executions happen between Christmas and New Year," he added.
Previously, Iran has carried out mass executions during the Christmas and New Year holidays, hanging up to 10 people at a time.
Amiry-Moghaddam worries that political prisoners and juvenile offenders will be particularly vulnerable during this period. He urge international governments, including Norway, to express their concerns and react strongly if such executions occur.
He added that Norway and other countries with diplomatic relations with Iran should make their disapproval clear during their New Year’s greetings to Iran, and react strongly if any political executions or executions of minors happen during this time.
In 2015, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, Iran executed at least 40 people, including several political prisoners and juvenile offenders.
Photo: STR / AP / NTB
Unfortunately, Iran’s use of the death penalty is nothing new. In the past, the regime has employed medieval methods such as stoning people to death and throwing them off cliffs. Although Iran has outlawed stoning, some conservative clerics still regret that the practice is no longer permitted due to international pressure.
Amiry-Moghaddam is also concerned about the fate of juvenile offenders, as Iran currently holds dozens of people on death row who were under 18 when they committed their crimes.
"International pressure has put an end to stoning, but some ayatollahs still regret not being able to continue the practice," said Amiry-Moghaddam. "The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits the execution of minors, but Iran still upholds this brutal punishment."
Photo: Iran Human Rights
Hanging is the principal method of execution in Iran, which often involves a crane or a makeshift gallows. Public executions are common, with large cranes or temporary gallows used to carry them out. When executions are performed behind closed doors, the local prison warden usually decides whether to carry out the execution quickly with a broken neck or slowly by strangulation.
"Sometimes, executions are carried out quickly if the inmate is loud and causes trouble prior to the execution," said Amiry-Moghaddam.
Photo: Hamideh Shafieeha / MEHR News Agency
Amiry-Moghaddam concluded, "The coming weeks will be crucial in determining the fate of many Iranian prisoners awaiting execution. Let’s hope that international pressure, along with clear statements from international governments, will spare some lives."
Read also: 40 Executed During Festive Season
