In 2012 Ahmadinejad stopped executions still Rouhani managed to hang in 2 months as many as Ahmadinejad hanged in 6 months.
IHR: 'Situation of the death penalty has deteriorated significantly during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani'. (IHR).
Annual 2014 Report at a Glance.
753 people were executed in 2014 (10% increase compared to 2013)
291 cases (39%) were announced by official sources
49% (367) were executed for drug-related charges
32% (240) were executed for murder charges
53 executions were conducted in public spaces
At least 14 juvenile offenders were among those executed
At least 26 women were executed
At least 4 people were resuscitated after being hanged.
The present report is being published while diplomatic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the international community are at their strongest following the election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s president in June 2013.
In 2014 there have been high level meetings between the Iranian authorities and governments of many Western countries. In addition to visits by hundreds of lawmakers and politicians from the Western countries, top EU officials and foreign ministers of several countries including Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Austria have visited Tehran. Dozens of high level meetings involving Iranian leaders have taken place on the international stage.
In spite of this level of engagement, the data collected by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and published in this report show that the number of executions conducted in 2014 is the highest in more than 15 years.
Moreover, a comparison of the execution rates in the 18 months before and after the election of Mr. Rouhani shows a significant increase in the use of the death penalty after Rouhani’s election.
There has also been the highest number of reported juvenile executions since 1990.
In addition, Iranian authorities continue execution for non-violent civil and political activists.
Executions of Arab teachers, Hadi Rashedi and Hashem Shabani, who belonged to an Arabic cultural group called “Al-Hiwar” (dialogue)[2], Gholamreza Khosravi, charged with giving economic support to a banned opposition group[3] and Mohsen Amir Aslani charged with insulting the Prophet Jonah and heresy[4], are just few examples of this practice.
The Iranian Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Soheil Arabi, for insulting the Prophet on Facebook and he remains in danger of execution[5].
This report raises the question whether the use of death penalty has been an issue in the bilateral dialogue between Iran and the countries which are the main promoters of abolition of the death penalty on the international scene. If the death penalty is an important issue in these talks, why are the execution numbers rising at the same time as the diplomatic relations are increasingly flourishing? And more importantly, what specific measures are the international community going to take in order to counteract this trend?
Commenting the report Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director and spokesperson of IHR said, “Despite the improving relations between the international community and Iran, the situation of the death penalty has deteriorated significantly during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani. This trend cannot continue. Restriction of the use of the death penalty must be one of the top demands in any dialogue between the international community and Iran. It is time to show that human rights also benefit from these dialogues.” Hmmm.........Obama's new BFF Iran. The Europeans out of greed would whitewash any action of the Mullahs their regime, just in order for good deals and cheap gas. Politicians have become traders for the global markets, human values and rights have no place in the wallets of these guys. Read the full report here. Download here.