UN Rights Office: Iran has Executed More Than 200 People this Year

A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. Ali Khara/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. Ali Khara/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
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UN Rights Office: Iran has Executed More Than 200 People this Year

A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. Ali Khara/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
A general view of Tehran city, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. Ali Khara/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

Iran has executed 209 people so far this year, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office said on Tuesday, describing its record as "abominable" and calling for them to halt.
"The UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk today expressed dismay at the frighteningly high number of executions this year in Iran," Ravina Shamdasani told a Geneva press briefing.

"On average so far this year, over 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, making it one of the world's highest executors," she added, saying most were for drug-related offences.

Iran hanged two men Monday convicted of blasphemy, authorities said.

The streak of executions, including members of ethnic minority groups in Iran, comes as monthslong protests over the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's morality police have cooled.

Already, at least four people charged over alleged crimes from the demonstrations have been put to death. The protests reportedly saw over 500 people killed and 19,000 others arrested.



First Mpox Case Detected in Azerbaijan

A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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First Mpox Case Detected in Azerbaijan

A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

A case of mpox has been found in Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, adding that the patient had been isolated and was receiving treatment in hospital.
Interfax quoted Azerbaijan's Ministry of Health and Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) as saying the patient was a 22-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan who had been on a tourist trip abroad from Jan. 2-11.
A few days after his return, he went to a clinic in Azerbaijan's capital Baku complaining of weakness, fever, a skin rash, enlarged lymph nodes and muscle pains, Interfax reported.
The ministry and TABIB did not specify where the patient had been abroad.
According to Reuters, Interfax said family members who had been in contact with the patient had shown no signs of the disease and were under home observation.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild, but it can be lethal.
In August, the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency after an mpox outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries and beyond.