The Iran Human Rights (IHR) says the government of the country controlled by spiritual leader Ayatollah Khameini , has executed over 1,000 people so far in the year, translating to nine people being killed every day.

The IHR quoted by France 24, stated in a report released September 23, that at least 64 executions were carried out in the past week alone. Iran carries out executions by hanging.

Ad >>>

“This means that an average of more than nine hangings have been conducted per day,” the group stated.

IHR stated, “Iran has begun committing mass killings in its prisons over recent months, and the scale is expanding daily in the absence of a serious international response.” It added that “the death penalty is being misused as a tool for political repression.”

International human rights organization Amnesty International also stated, “Iran’s execution of death sentences has reached a horrifying level,” adding that “dozens of individuals, prosecuted on political grounds and subjected to unfair trials, remain at risk of execution.”

IHR began publishing annual tallies of executions in Iran starting in 2008. The 1,000 executions mark the highest figure since the tally began, surpassing last year’s 975 cases. Prior to this, 2015 held the record with 977 executions.

The UN Human Rights Office expressed deep concern, calling the scale “shocking.”

An analysis of the charges against those executed by hanging this year shows that 50% involved drug-related crimes, 43% were for murder. This was followed by 3% for national security-related offenses, 3% for rape, and 1% for espionage activities linked to Israel, among others.

Among these were 10 individuals executed on espionage charges. Since engaging in a 12-day armed conflict with Israel, which attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, Iran has been systematically identifying and consecutively executing domestic spies who collaborated with Israel.

IHR noted that only 11% of the 1,000 identified executions were officially announced, and the actual number is likely higher when accounting for unreported cases.