The 901 carried out death penalties included in the UN's statistics can be compared to 853 executions in 2023 – as many as the human rights organization Amnesty International then reported on. The 2023 figure was the highest in eight years.
"It's high time for Iran to stop this constant wave of executions", says Türk in a press release.
A majority of last year's death penalties in Iran were imposed for drug-related crimes. But among those executed were also activists who had participated in regime-critical protests and an increased number of women.
Iran, along with China, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the USA, are the countries that carried out the most executions in the world in 2023, according to Amnesty International. The global statistics for 2024 are not yet complete.
Around 170 countries in the world have completely abolished the death penalty or stopped the punishment with a moratorium, according to the UN.
