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| According to research published in April by two rights groups, only 16.5% of executions believed to have been carried out in Iran last year were announced by officials. Protesters in London campaign against Iran's use of the death penalty in 2020. (Photo by= Getty Images) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Iranian authorities put three women to death on Wednesday for murdering their husbands, a human rights charity says. According to the Iran Human Rights Group, they were among 32 people executed in the past week alone, BBC reported.
A former child bride, convicted of later killing the man she had married at the age of 15, was among them. Authorities are believed to have substantially stepped up their use of the death penalty, executing twice as many people so far this year than last. Rights groups report that Iran also executes more women than any other country, the majority of whom are thought to have been found guilty of killing their husbands. On Wednesday, the Iran Human Rights Group says former child bride Soheila Abadi was hanged in prison after being convicted of killing her husband after marrying him 10 years previously when she was 15 years old. The sentencing court reportedly said the motive for the murder had been "family disputes."
Activists say many of the cases involve accusations of domestic violence but that Iranian courts frequently do not take that into account. Precise figures on execution numbers are not available as Iranian authorities do not officially announce every case where the death penalty has been carried out.
