The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center recently released a report charting executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran since December 2010. The report is based on information from official and semi-official sources as well as other reports; links to the sources are included.
For many years, the Islamic Republic has been second only to China in the number of executions. The exact number is unknown since the government conducts many executions secretly; it often fails to disclose the names and other identifying information. However, Amnesty International has reported that the regime executed at least 346 people in 2008, 388 people in 2009 and 252 people in 2010. In a worrying trend, the pace of executions began to escalate at the end of 2010 and has continued unabated into 2011. So far, at least 361 people have been executed this year.
As the chart indicates, Iran continues to execute people for crimes such as drug trafficking, religious apostasy, and alleged political activities, none of which are serious enough crimes to warrant the death penalty under international law. The Islamic Republic also has a history of executing people with little or no due process as required under international law.
Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that in “countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes . . . pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court.” The U.N. Human Rights Committee has repeatedly concluded that drug-related offenses, apostasy, and “crimes that do not result in the loss of life” are not “serious crimes” warranting the death penalty.