The U.N. expert on human rights in Iran says last year saw increasing restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and continuing violations of the right to life, liberty and a fair trial in the Islamic Republic, including 253 reported executions of adults and children.
Javaid Rehman said in a report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that while the number of executions was the lowest since 2007, “the number of executions remains one of the highest in the world.”
He says the significant decline is attributed to enforcement of a 2017 amendment to Iran‘s anti-narcotics law that saw the number of executions for drug-related offenses drop from 231 in 2017 to at least 24 in 2018.
Rehman says seven child offenders were reported executed in 2018.
