Iran publicly executes two men for killing a police officer during an armed robbery

Iranian authorities publicly executed two men on Monday over the killing of a police officer during an armed robbery in central Iran, according to the judiciary.

“The death sentence against two armed robbers was carried out this morning in the city of Khomein” in the central province of Markazi, the judicial magazine Mizan Online reported, citing the local prosecutor.

According to the report, the sentence was carried out publicly on Monday morning.

In Iran, where death sentences are carried out by hanging, convicts are rarely publicly executed.

The two convicts shot and killed a police officer almost four years ago while trying to escape after clashes with law enforcement, Mizan said.

Iran is doing this highest number of executions to China every year, according to human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. The number of executions in 2023 was the highest since 2015, marking a 48% increase from 2022 and a 172% increase from 2021, Amnesty said.

According to Human Rights Watch, Iran executed at least 87 people last month, including 29 in one day.

“The Iranian authorities are carrying out an outrageous series of executions while trumpeting the recent presidential election as evidence of real change,” said Nahid Naghshbandi, deputy Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.

In the Islamic Republic, the death penalty is imposed for serious crimes such as murder and drug trafficking, as well as for rape and sexual assault.