480 Prisoners Hanged From October 2010 to October 2011 by the Iranian Government

HRANA News Agency – The Statistics and Publications Unit of Human Rights Activists in Iran has reported that from October 2010 to October 2011, 480 individuals charged with various crimes have been hanged in Iran. During the same period of time, there have been 641 prisoners sentenced to death and 46 individuals hanged in public.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the majority of prisoners who received the death penalty were charged with drug related crimes. It is also noteworthy that Iranian Judiciary Branch neither officially announces the majority of death sentences when they are issued nor the time when they are carried out.

Since the beginning of 2011, 478 individuals have been sentenced to die, and the death penalties for 422 of these prisoners have been carried out. If there are no more hangings in the remaining days of 2011, the number of hanging in the current year will be 22% less than last year.

Analyzing the data further, the Statistics and Publications Unit has reported that since the beginning of the current Persian year (March 2011), 442 individuals have been sentenced to die, and 253 prisoners have been hanged. Amongst those executed, 39 individuals were hanged in public. In comparison to the same period of time last year, executions have increased 45%.

During the last twelve months, the relative frequency of death sentences carried out is mostly related to narcotics, murder, rape and theft in the order listed. Amongst those executed, there were 12 women. Furthermore, the majority of drug related death penalties have been issued in eastern provinces of Iran where narcotics are smuggled into the country from Afghanistan.