OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
11:29 AM – Friday, November 3, 2023
An Iranian court has sentenced a woman to death for adultery as the nation faces international scrutiny for its frequent use of the death penalty.
On Wednesday, the IRAN newspaper reported that the woman’s husband alerted police in 2022 after discovering her in the company of another man at their residence. The husband also found surveillance footage that proved his wife was having relations with other men.
Under Iranian law, the woman retains the right to appeal. In some cases, Iranian courts initially sentence the perpetrator to death by stoning for adultery, but this sentence may be mitigated to lesser punishments through the appeals process.
On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern, stating that Iran has been executing individuals at an “alarming rate,” indicating that the Iranian government’s consistent use of the death penalty is a method to maintain power over citizens by instilling fear.
In 2022, Iran had the highest recorded executions in the world and was the top executioner of women with at least 16 recorded. Out of the 576 cases resulting in the death penalty that year, 279 individuals received sentences for murder, 255 for drug-related crimes, 21 for rape, and 18 for charges related to “enmity against God.”
Guterres cited that at least 419 people received the death penalty in the first seven months of 2023, marking a 30% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
Capital punishment in Iran is applicable to various offenses, including adultery, sodomy, murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. In 2022, two gay men in Iran were executed for sodomy.
Among developed nations, the United States imposed 21 new death sentences in 2022.
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