UN warns of surge in Iranian executions as Afghan femicide study reveals state impunity

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has expressed alarm over an escalation in capital punishment in Iran, noting at least 56 executions since mid-March. According to Türk, the death penalty is being deployed to "instill fear in the population and suppress dissent."

Among those executed was 24-year-old Marzieh Neyri, who received capital punishment after defending herself against sexual harassment. Legal analysts highlight that Iranian judicial standards require four male eyewitnesses to legally prove sexual assault, creating severe obstacles for female victims.

Concurrently, a recent investigation into 231 femicides in Afghanistan underscores widespread impunity for gender-based violence under Taliban rule. Following the dissolution of the attorney general's office in 2023, state institutions no longer track domestic homicides, leaving such crimes unrecorded.

Sources: Diário de Notícias (DN), Expresso, RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal)