The pace of executions was much higher than in 2022, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) warned, according to media reports.
Rights groups have accused Iran of increasing the use of the death penalty to cause panic and fear following the widespread protests which erupted last September following the custodial death of Mahsa Amini. She had been arrested by the morality police for not wearing her hijab properly.
The 354 people figure for the first six months up to June 30 was up 36 per cent on the same period in 2022 when 261 people were executed, Iran Human Rights noted, emphasising concerns that non-Persian ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by executions in Iran as 20 per cent of all executions were of members of the Sunni Baluch minority.
206 people were executed for drug-related charges, a 126 per cent rise compared to the same period last year, the group said while six women were among those executed in the period while two men were publicly hanged, it added.
“The death penalty is used to create societal fear and prevent more protests. The majority of those killed are low-cost victims of the killing machine, drug defendants who are from the most marginalised communities,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.
IHR reported earlier this year that Iran carried out 582 executions in 2022, the highest since 2015. Iran is the world's second-biggest executioner after China for which no data is available, Amnesty International said.
