The Islamic Republic executed at least 101 people in June alone, bringing the known number of state-sanctioned killings to at least 370 in the first six months of the year, the nonprofit organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reported on Monday.
At least nine women were among the victims, the organization said. IHRNGO also said that it is currently investigating unverified reports of more than 400 additional possible executions.
Of the 370 documented executions, at least 55 were carried out on charges related to national security, including 18 individuals who had participated in anti-government protests, according to IHRNGO.
Among those named by the organization as having been executed since the beginning of the year for their alleged roles in protests were Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi, Mehdi Ghasemi, Amirhossein Hatami, Mohammad Amin Biglari, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Ali Fahim, Amir Ali Mir Jafari, Erfan Kiani, Sasan Azadvar, Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad, Mehdi Rasouli, Mohammadreza Miri, Mohammad Abbasi, Abbas Akbari Feizabadi, Ashkan Maleki, Mehrdad Mohammadinia, Fathollah Avari, Javad Zamani, and Abolfazl Saedi.
Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a Kurdish protester involved in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, was also executed, according to the group.
Only 53 of the recorded executions were announced by official sources, while the remainder were documented through two independent sources known to IHRNGO.
IHRNGO, calls on the international community
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHRNGO, called on the international community to make human rights a central issue in any engagement with Tehran.
“Any agreement with the Islamic Republic by states committed to human rights principles must make a moratorium on the death penalty a central condition,” he said. “The EU and its partners can and must play an important role in stopping executions in Iran.”
IHRNGO urged governments to prioritize the human rights situation of Iranians in any dialogue with Tehran. The comments echoed concerns raised last week by Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, who criticized the Memorandum of Understanding for failing to address the needs of the Iranian people.
Speaking with Geneva Solutions last week, Sato said, “The Iranian people are effectively absent from this framework,” and noted that US President Donald Trump’s focus on human rights from the early days of the war did not materialize into any real demand for change.
The Islamic regime has continued sentencing individuals said to be involved in the January uprising this week. At least five alleged protesters were sentenced to death on the charge of “enmity against God,” Iran International reported.
The charges range from alleging the defendants attacked a mosque with Molotov cocktails, took part in illegal gatherings, “assembly and collusion,” and alleged offenses under Iran’s espionage law, including cooperation with Israel, according to the site.
The Hengaw human rights organization also reported that 32-year-old Kamal Khanbabai was sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Qazvin over allegations that he damaged two security cameras during the January protests. He was sentenced under the charge of waging war against God. The organization also reported that Vahid Khan Sanami was sentenced to death in connection with the January demonstrations under the same charges.