4 February 2021, 14:08 UTC
Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute four Baluchi and four Ahwazi Arab men amid an alarming rise in executions of ethnic minority prisoners in the past two months, Amnesty International said today. The international community, including UN human rights bodies and the EU must urgently intervene to save their lives.
“The recent escalation in executions of Baluchis and Ahwazi Arabs raises serious concerns that the authorities are using the death penalty to sow fear among disadvantaged ethnic minorities, as well as the wider population. The disproportionate use of the death penalty against Iran’s ethnic minorities epitomizes the entrenched discrimination and repression they have faced for decades,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.