Activists: Iran has executed more than 500 people since the beginning of the year

Documentation and allegations

The Iranian judicial authority and the office of the Supreme Judge have so far not publicly commented on the figures cited. The government in Tehran takes the view that the death penalty is part of its sovereignty and regularly refers to the country's Islamic legal order. Independent observers in Iran report that political prisoners and activists increasingly have to reckon with the maximum penalty.

Because of the high number of executions, Austria, Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada and the European Union have called for an immediate suspension of the death penalty in a joint appeal. In the letter, which was also sent to the Iranian embassy in Vienna, it says: "Die Todesstrafe zu nutzen, um Kritiker zum Schweigen zu bringen, die Bevölkerung einzuschüchtern und diejenigen zu bestrafen, die ihre Menschenrechte ausüben, kann niemals gerechtfertigt sein".

The signatories also demand access to fair proceedings, consular assistance for foreign nationals among those convicted, and compliance with international human rights standards, which Iran formally recognized in 1990. They announced that they would raise the issue in upcoming talks with Tehran and at the United Nations.

International reactions

The Donald Trump administration has also announced sanctions against Iranian judicial officials several times in recent weeks. According to the US State Department, the background is the persecution of minorities and political dissidents. According to Washington, the measures target several judges as well as the Iranian prosecution authorities.

Meanwhile, concern is growing about the safety of foreign citizens still imprisoned in Iran. According to human rights groups, several Europeans are currently being held in Iranian custody, accused of "espionage" or "collaboration with hostile states." Diplomatic efforts to secure their release are underway in Vienna and Brussels, among other places.

The organization Iran Human Rights documents the executions in monthly reports and publishes a continuously updated statistic on its website. The figures are largely confirmed by independent observers, although some Western governments point out that the actual number could be even higher given the lack of transparency in Iranian court proceedings.

Background and political context

The debate over the death penalty in Iran comes amid a phase of growing international isolation of Tehran. While talks on the Iranian nuclear program have been stalled for years, Western states are also accusing the leadership of tightening repression at home. The EU already suspended a human rights dialogue with Iran last year.

Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly made similar accusations in recent years and criticized the fact that the death penalty in Iran is also carried out after politically motivated trials with short deadlines. The coming weeks will show whether the new joint appeal can bring about a change in practice.

Observers in Vienna emphasize that the condemnation by the signatory states is primarily symbolic in character. Concrete sanctions or diplomatic steps would have to be decided at the level of the EU foreign ministers and at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. A routine review of the human rights situation in Iran is scheduled there for the autumn.