IRAN Iran has long ranked among the top countries that actively and extensively apply the death penalty. It is based on Islamic Sharia law as well as state law. The authorities use it not only for extremely violent crimes, but also for acts that are punished much less harshly in other countries. These include, for example, drug offenses or endangering state security.
In addition to the reasons mentioned above, the death penalty is also imposed for murder, rape, or blasphemy against God. The death penalty can also be imposed on people accused of participating in anti-government protests, which draws strong criticism from international organizations.
Executions in Iran are most often carried out directly in prisons. Sometimes, however, they are also carried out publicly – this is meant to intimidate people and demonstrate the strength of the regime. In some cases, information appears about executions without sufficient transparency, where families are not informed in time.
Iran is regularly criticized by human rights organizations for insufficiently transparent court proceedings. In addition, also for the huge number of executions. Some estimates speak of up to several thousand executions per year. It was these organizations that published photos of the victims in order to spread information about the practices of the local regime.
