Dr Shaheed’s report on Iran reveals six-fold increase in executions since 2003

Dr Shaheed, who was appointed Special Rapporteur in June 2011, reported that Iran had executed 670 people last year, 81 percent of them for minor drug offences that did not justify capital punishment under international law. 20 people were executed for offences against Islam, Dr Shaheed found, while a further 15 are awaiting death sentences for adultery.

Of these executions 421 were announced publicly, while 249 were performed in ‘secret’. Dr Shaheed expressed particular concern about the surge in executions in the last three months of 2011, from 200 in mid-September 2011 to over 600 by the end of the year – a six-fold increase on 2003.

Despite drug offences being the most frequently-cited reason for executions, Dr Shaheed told a press conference that there were “strong indications” that the arrests were political and drug charges added later.