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.



Gunman Shoots Dead 2 Judges in Iran's Capital

Iranians wave Palestinian, Hezbollah and national flags, as they celebrate a Gaza ceasefire deal during a rally after the Friday noon prayers in Tehran on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Iranians wave Palestinian, Hezbollah and national flags, as they celebrate a Gaza ceasefire deal during a rally after the Friday noon prayers in Tehran on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gunman Shoots Dead 2 Judges in Iran's Capital

Iranians wave Palestinian, Hezbollah and national flags, as they celebrate a Gaza ceasefire deal during a rally after the Friday noon prayers in Tehran on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Iranians wave Palestinian, Hezbollah and national flags, as they celebrate a Gaza ceasefire deal during a rally after the Friday noon prayers in Tehran on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

A man fatally shot two prominent hard-line judges in Iran's capital Saturday in a rare attack targeting the judiciary, state media reported.

The judges, clerics Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini, both died in the shooting, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. A bodyguard for one of the judges also was wounded.

The gunman later killed himself, IRNA said.

Razini was once targeted in a failed assassination attempt in 1999.
Both judges were known for prosecuting and giving harsh sentences to activists over the past decades.