The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has condemned what it describes as “the mass use of the death penalty” in Iran.

It has called on the country to respect the fundamental right to life, and to uphold fair-trial rights and due process.

Quoting figures from the United Nations, the human-rights body said that Iran had executed at least 419 individuals in the first seven months of 2023 – a 30% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.

The IBAHRI said that the figures demonstrated “an alarming and significant increase” in the number of executions carried out by Iranian authorities.

‘Lack of legal representation’

Anne Ramberg (IBA co-chair) also called on the authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily arrested protestors and human-rights defenders – including lawyers – to uphold the independence of the legal profession, to ensure the right to a fair trial of all accused, and to introduce an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, with a view to abolition.

“We are deeply concerned that most defendants before the Revolutionary Courts lack legal representation during their proceedings,” she said.

“The IBAHRI calls on Iran’s authorities to halt the denial of access to adequate legal representation and to introduce a moratorium on all planned executions,” she concluded.

The human-rights body also cited monitoring and reports by Iranian human-rights groups that indicated that the number of executions had surged in Iran since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza, with at least 176 people executed.

It added that Iran had not responded to requests to release official figures regarding the number of executions carried out since 7 October.