The trail of blood continues, which since the beginning of the year has seen executions double compared to last year. It is difficult to have clear numbers since the government does not officially announce the sentences carried out, but it seems that more than 250 people have been executed since the beginning of the year.
Terrible numbers. In just one week, the government executed 32 people. Among these, many are women, often victims of domestic abuse who have decided to react to abusive husbands. Others, like one of those executed on Wednesday 27 July, are child brides. The condemned woman was only 15 years old when she married her husband who was later killed: the humanitarian organization Iran Human Rights Group denounces it.
The ex-bride-child woman, her name was Soheila Abad, had been married for 10 years and was hanged in prison.
The human rights organization also denounces how many of these cases of women killing their husbands are reactions to daily domestic violence, which are ignored by the courts, which deny the motive to “family disputes”.
According to the group, Iran hides the true figures on the use of the death penalty and, citing two other human rights organizations, says that only 16.5% of executions were made public last year.
Amnesty International has openly accused Iran of being responsible for a “horrific and insane” wave of executions in recent months.
“The state machine is carrying out large-scale killings across the country in an aberrant assault on the right to life,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s regional deputy director.
Some of the prisoners were sentenced to death in mass executions: there is evidence of at least 12 killings in two different prisons which took place on 6 and 15 June.
Furthermore, ethnic minorities are targeted by Tehran: the Baluchi ethnic group is the most affected. Although it represents only 5% of the population, one in four convicts belongs to it.