Only in August, at least 81 people were executed, an increase from the 45 executions reported in July, according to UN experts. About half of those killed in August had been sentenced for drug offenses.
Besides China, Iran executes more people than any other country, according to human rights organizations such as Amnesty International.
Those sentenced to death have rarely received a fair trial, according to the UN group.
On August 6, Reza Rasaei, a Kurdish demonstrator who protested during the "woman, life, freedom" movement in 2022, was executed. He was accused of killing a soldier from Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, but the verdict was based on a confession allegedly obtained under torture. Witnesses who pointed him out withdrew their testimonies, and there was no forensic evidence to prove his guilt.
"The death penalty, as currently applied in the Islamic Republic of Iran, constitutes illegal executions," writes the expert council, expressing concern that innocent people are being executed.
