Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Most of the executions last year were for drug-related offences, but dissidents and people connected to the 2022 protests were also executed. There was also a rise in the number of women executed,” she said.
“It is high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of executions,” the spokesperson said.
The UN Human Rights Office opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. It is incompatible with the fundamental right to life and raises the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. “And to be clear, it can never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law,” Throssell said.
“We understand that at least 31 women were reportedly executed in 2024. Now, that marks the highest number in 15 years,” she said.
“The majority of cases involve charges of murder. A significant number of the women were victims of domestic violence, child marriage or forced marriage. A number of them were convicted of murdering their husbands.”
“The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urges the Iranian authorities to halt all further executions, and to place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to ultimately abolishing it. Some 170 States have either abolished the death penalty or imposed a moratorium on its use,” Throssell said.
END
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan - + 41 76 223 77 62 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Iran Executions in 2024
TRT: 01:55
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 07 January 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
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