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British Foreign Office Report on Human Rights for 2010 : 650 people were executed in 2010 in Iran

31 Mar 11
British Foreign Office Report on Human Rights for 2010 : 650 people were executed in 2010 in Iran

Iran Human Rights, March 30: According to "The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report" on human rights, the number of executions in Iran increases to over 650 in 2010.

The report that was published today covered the human rights situation in a number of countries among them Iran.

According to the report more than 650 people were executed in Iran in 2010, where about 590 of them were executed for drugstrafficking, 27 people were executed for "Moharebeh" (enemity towards God) in 2010.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights (IHR), welcomed the report by the British Foreign office and said: "This is a very important comprehensive report".

He added: "The numbers presented in the report are in line with the annual report of IHR and demonstrate the dramatic increase in the number of exections in 2010 in Iran".

According to the annual report of IHR on the death penalty in Iran, at least 546 people were executed in 2010. According to IHR’s report 200 additional executions were not included in the total number due to lack of precise information.

Selected parts of the British Foreign office’s report for 2010:

"The year 2010 was marked by a determined government crackdown againstprotesters and a continuation of the suppression of rights that followed the disputedJune 2009 presidential election. January saw a further wave of arrests, and riotpolice and armed militia members were a visible presence on streets across thecapital Tehran; peaceful vigils were broken up, and on 28 January, two youngpolitical prisoners were executed. By mid-February, an overwhelming securitypresence put an end to large public demonstrations. Throughout the year arrestsand intimidation continued, particularly among lawyers, opposition politicians,journalists, student and trade unionists, and religious and ethnic minorities. Analready heavily proscribed media faced further restriction, and military resourceswere increasingly used to monitor and restrict internet usage. Alongside the politicalrepression, executions increased to over 650 in 2010, according to NGO figures, anexecution rate surpassed only by China. Iran ended the year with human rightsmore restricted than at any time during the last decade".

"Estimates suggest that Iran executes more people per capita than any other countryin the world. The year 2010 saw a steep increase in the number of executions inresponse to a tough new anti-drugs policy. Credible reports suggest that theexecution figure rose from at least 388 publicly reported executions in 2009, to morethan 650 in 2010. Reports indicate that roughly 590 people were executed for drugstrafficking in 2010".

"A dramatic increase in executions in 2010 and the growing number of arrests highlighted the importance of fair and transparent access to justice. However, for both drug-related and political cases, reliable reports continued to emerge of forced confessions, staged trials and a lack of access to independent legal counsel or evenbasic services such as translation and consular access for foreign nationals. There was a report of one execution where the victim did not even know that he had beensentenced to death".

"We were deeply concerned about the persistent use of ill-defined or vaguely wordedcharges. In 2010, there were at least 27 executions on the charge of “moharebeh”(enmity towards God). This charge has been applied both to political protesters andto those accused of terrorism, with the distinction being occasionally blurred. Thevague and political nature of the charge makes any case very difficult to defend, andin a number of instances, the Ministry of Intelligence reportedly pushed for swift andharsh judgment on the accused".

"The government of Iran continued to use the death penalty extensively. We hadgrave concerns over its application, not least because of limited respect for fair trialrights, lack of transparency, and repeated reports of forced confession. Iran also continued to execute those who committed crimes as minors, and to conduct publicexecutions".

"In addition to the number of executions, we also had serious concerns about the methods used. The Iranian penal code still allows for execution by a range of methods that we consider to be cruel and that prolong the suffering of the condemned. Suspension strangulation – in which the victim is winched slowly upward – is still applied in some cases, and stoning sentences were handed down,despite a non-binding moratorium on its use".