MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Last week, Tehran announced the execution of 20 people considered members of alleged terror group Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. The identities of those executed have so far been withheld by the authorities, making it impossible to independently verify their allegiance to any terror group.
"Iran’s mass execution of prisoners on August 2 at Rajai Shahr prison is a shameful low point in its human rights record," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement on the watchdog’s website.
According to the watchdog, the 230 recorded executions since the start of this year keep Iran as the regional leader in executions, "but a laggard in implementing the so far illusory penal code reforms" to reach international standards in ensuring respect for prisoners’ rights.
