Islamic Republic Executes 2 Prisoners Amid Death Penalty Rise

The Islamic Republic's authorities have executed two more prisoners amid a concerning rise in the use of the death penalty.

Sajad Bandegi, a Kurdish prisoner from Kermanshah province, was executed on Wednesday, hours after his sudden transfer to solitary confinement, in Qezelhesar Prison.

The 37-year-old Bandegi was arrested ten years ago on drug-related charges and subsequently sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic's judiciary, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.

Behnam Bagheri, a 30-year-old man, was also executed on Wednesday in Dastgerd Prison.

Bagheri had been arrested five years ago on alleged murder charges and was subsequently sentenced to death.

According to a report by Amnesty International, Iran has reached its highest level of death sentence executions in the last eight years, with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executing 853 people in 2023 alone.

The report indicates that 481 executions, more than half of the total, were related to drug crimes. 

This marks an 89 percent rise in death penalties for drug-related offenses compared to 2022, when 255 people were executed. 

The latest numbers also show a staggering 264 percent increase compared to 2021, when 132 individuals faced execution on similar charges.