From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Iran executes 29 day after protester’s hanging: rights group
Iran hanged at least 29 convicts today, including 26 in a group execution in one prison, a rights group says, a day after facing international condemnation for executing a man in connection with 2022 protests.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights says 26 men were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj outside Tehran, while three other men were executed in Karaj’s city prison. Those executed, who included two Afghan nationals, had been convicted of murder, drug-related and rape charges.
Other rights groups including US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also confirm the execution of at least two dozen people in Karaj.
Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Iran, which they say executes more people annually than any nation other than China, of making use of the death penalty on all charges to instill fear in society in the wake of the 2022 protests.
“Without an immediate response from the international community, hundreds of individuals could become victims of the Islamic Republic’s killing machine in the coming months,” says IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.
IHR emphasizes that a group execution on this scale was unprecedented in recent years in Iran, with the last comparable example dating back to 2009.
