With mementos from beyond the grave, show keeps victims' memories alive

The latest figures show an increase of 119 executions from the previous year, when 853 executions were recorded.

Globally, the total number of recorded executions reached 1,518 in 2024, the highest figure since 2015, according to Amnesty International’s annual report on the global use of the death penalty released on Tuesday.

Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were responsible for an overwhelming 91% of the known global executions, a sharp rise from the previous year's 89%.

“Those who dare challenge authorities have faced the most cruel of punishments, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty used to silence those brave enough to speak out,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

Amnesty said that the vast majority of the executions in Iran last year were linked to political repression, including those involved in the Woman Life Freedom protests sparked by the death in custody of 22 year old Mahsa Amini over alleged hijab law violations.

“In 2024, Iran persisted in their use of the death penalty to punish individuals who had challenged the Islamic Republic establishment during the Woman Life Freedom uprising.

"Last year saw two of those people – including a youth with a mental disability – executed in connection with the uprising following unfair trials and torture-tainted ‘confessions’, proving how far the authorities are willing to go to tighten their grip on power,” Callamard added.

According to Amnesty's report, in 2024, Iran executed 30 women, four individuals for crimes committed when they were under 18, and four people in public.

Over 40% of global executions in 2024 were for drug crimes, a practice Amnesty has criticized as unlawful and ineffective, as international human rights law restricts the death penalty to the “most serious crimes.”

“Drug-related executions were prevalent in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and, while no confirmation was possible, likely Viet Nam. In many contexts, sentencing people to death for drug-related offences has been found to disproportionately impact those from disadvantaged backgrounds, while it has no proven effect in reducing drug trafficking,” said Callamard.

Amnesty said that the figures reported in its annual report do not include the thousands of executions believed to have occurred in China, which it named the world’s leading executioner, nor those in North Korea and Vietnam, where the death penalty is also extensively used.

"We're not denying the fact that having to act militarily is always an option," Pahlavi told a Washington DC event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI).

"But I think it will be historically criminal not to give the Iranian people a chance to make that happen before you have to resort to those less likable scenarios," he added.

US President Donald Trump has extended an offer to Iran for direct negotiations aimed at addressing concerns over its nuclear program. But the overture was accompanied by a stern warning: failure to engage would result in bombing "the likes of which they (Iran) have never seen before."

Pahlavi added that moving straight from diplomacy to military action would be ill advised. "Once again, you're throwing the people of Iran under the bus, which will only add salt to injury."

In response to Trump's bombing threat, Iran elevated its military readiness and cautioned neighboring countries against supporting any US military actions, warning of repercussions for neighbors who might facilitate an attack.

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Addressing the same event, South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson said "preventing Iran's regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon, which is existential for the United States and for American families and has been cited about the missile programs, is the foremost urgency."

He referred to the recent downfall of Iran's staunch ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, adding that he is "very hopeful that the success of the people of Syria should be the equivalent for the Middle East of the fall of the Berlin Wall, for the Europe and Central Asia for ultimately liberation of countries around the world."

Last week, Wilson introduced a new bipartisan bill pushing for measures to empower Iranians to help overthrow the government in favor of a democratic alternative including facilitating greater internet access and funding for dissidents.

The Maximum Support Act, introduced by Wilson and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), would require the administration to develop an aggressive interagency strategy aimed at backing Iranian dissidents who would be pivotal in the process.

The legislation outlines a set of initiatives including facilitating secure communications for activists, appointing a special representative for coordinating support efforts and forming multi-agency teams to counter online censorship and government surveillance.

It also calls for offering safe channels for defection by Iranian officials and utilizing information shared by defectors.

“The Iranian regime will fall sooner rather than later,” Wilson said after introducing the bill.

The Revolutionary Court also sentenced Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam to one year of imprisonment on charges of “producing obscene content” and ordered the confiscation of all related equipment.

Both sentences will be suspended for five years, according to Iranian media outlets.

My Favorite Cake tells the story of an elderly woman living alone in Tehran, navigating the loneliness of old age while seeking new experiences. The film explores themes of personal freedom, love, and human connection.

Authorities have taken issue with the film’s portrayal of life outside state-imposed social restrictions, particularly its depiction of women without mandatory hijabs and scenes that hint at relationships outside conservative norms of unmarried couples.

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The film also features scenes where the characters consume alcohol—an act that, while common in private homes, is illegal under Iran’s strict laws.

In Iran, the production, sale and consumption of alcohol have been prohibited since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Despite the ban, alcohol consumption persists underground, with many Iranians producing homemade wine and spirits.

The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Jury Prize at Berlinale and the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival.

The film crew's trial comes amid an intensified crackdown on independent filmmakers and artists in Iran, particularly those who challenge state-imposed restrictions.

The rights group also called on the international community to urgently intervene to halt the "gruesome plan."

Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian, and Mehdi Shahivand, held in Urmia Central Prison in northwestern Iran, were informed by prosecutors on March 13 that their amputation sentences would be carried out imminently.

Amnesty International highlighted that authorities in the same prison amputated the fingers of two brothers in October 2024 using a guillotine device.

"Amputation constitutes torture, which is a crime under international law and is a flagrant and abhorrent assault on human dignity," said Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. She called on Iran to immediately halt the sentences and abolish all forms of corporal punishment.

Amnesty International said that the planned amputations are based on confessions obtained under torture and followed grossly unfair trials.

The organization urged that all Iranian officials responsible for ordering or carrying out these acts be criminally investigated and prosecuted, including through universal jurisdiction.

The three men, convicted of robbery in 2019, have consistently maintained their innocence and said that their confessions were forced under torture, including beatings, flogging, and suspension by their limbs.

Despite violating Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party, Iranian law prescribes that for certain types of theft, those convicted must “have four fingers of their right hand completely cut off, leaving only the palm and thumb.”

Hadi Rostami reported a broken hand, and Mehdi Shahivand alleged threats of rape. Their requests for investigations into these torture allegations were reportedly ignored by Iranian authorities, including the Supreme Court, according to Amnesty.

According to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, a human rights organization, Iranian authorities have issued at least 384 amputation sentences and carried out at least 223 since 1979, with the actual numbers likely higher.

The resolution, submitted by Iceland, Germany, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, and the United Kingdom, passed with 24 votes in favor, 8 against, and 15 abstentions at the end of the council's 58th annual session in Geneva.

The council said in the resolution that it is alarmed by the widespread violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in Iran, particularly the severe repression of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and the continuing increase in executions.

The resolution condemned Iran’s use of the death penalty to spread fear and silence political dissent. It warned that handing down death sentences for offenses that don’t meet the international standard of “most serious crimes” is a clear violation of global legal norms. Under international law, the death penalty should be reserved only for crimes involving intentional killing.

The council also highlighted the systematic suppression of freedom of expression and assembly, the harassment of journalists, the restrictions on human rights defenders and civil activists, and what it called "the multifaceted violence and discrimination against minorities" as key examples of ongoing human rights violations in Iran.

The resolution extends the mandate of the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran for another year, tasking the role with continuously monitoring the human rights situation, gathering credible documentation of violations, and assessing Iran's progress in implementing previous recommendations.

The special rapporteur is required to present two periodic reports, one to the Human Rights Council and another to the UN General Assembly. The resolution urged Iranian authorities to provide the necessary cooperation and full access for on-site investigations within Iran.

Additionally, the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, initially established following the nationwide protests in 2022-2023, was also extended for a year.

The mission is mandated to collect and systematically preserve documentation, evidence, and reports related to the suppression of protests, including gender and ethnicity-based discrimination, excessive use of force, and widespread violations of protesters' rights. The goal is to prepare evidence for any future independent legal proceedings to ensure accountability for responsible individuals and entities.

The resolution urged Iran to end systemic impunity by reforming its constitution, criminal laws, and its Judiciary to break the cycle of violence and repression. It called for the repeal or overhaul of compulsory hijab laws and the elimination of discrimination against women and minorities.

The council also demanded fair trials, ensuring that courts operate independently under qualified judges.

It further called for lifting restrictions on civil society, journalists, human rights defenders, and labor activists, safeguarding internet access and peaceful assembly, and releasing all individuals jailed for peaceful activities.

Lastly, the resolution pressed Iran to grant entry and access to the UN special rapporteur and the international fact-finding mission, in line with Iran’s formal invitation to UN human rights bodies.

The Iranian government, which dismisses all accusations regarding human rights violations, has not permitted UN special rapporteurs on human rights to visit the country and conduct investigations.

Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, strongly criticized the adoption of the resolution, labeling it a discriminatory act that undermines the council's credibility.

He argued that the resolution wastes the council's resources and diminishes trust in its work, urging a focus on the situation in Gaza instead.

Amnesty International welcomed the extension and broadening of the Fact-Finding Mission's mandate as a "critical, long-awaited response to the persistent demands for justice from survivors, victims' families and human rights defenders in Iran and in exile."

The organization said that by no longer being limited to the 2022 "Woman Life Freedom" protests, the mission can now investigate other recent or ongoing serious human rights violations and crimes under international law.

The UN's decision follows reports by the fact-finding mission documenting widespread human rights violations, including torture and sexual violence in prisons, which they said constitute crimes against humanity.