Iran is strengthening accountability on charges of espionage and co-operation with Israel and the United States, the country’s Guardian Council has decided.
A spokesman for Iran’s Constitutional Oversight Body announced the decision on 1 October after months of wrangling with parliament over the amendments.
Since the bill was introduced in parliament in June, lawyers and human rights groups had warned that its vague language and harsh penalties threatened arbitrary charges and mass executions, particularly for offences that previously carried lighter penalties or were not classified as espionage.
After final amendments, the law gives the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) the power to define “hostile states and groups”, While the Ministry of Intelligence lists specific “hostile networks”.
Any” intelligence, espionage or operational activities” for these hostile entities are punishable by death and confiscation of property. The law clearly designates the U.S. and Israel as “hostile states,” while the URNB can add to the list.
The document also states that other than the death penalty, no other punishment is appealable.
The announcement came days after UN human rights experts condemned the “dramatic escalation” of executions in Iran. According to the UN, Iranian authorities have executed more than 1,000 people since the beginning of the year – a figure Amnesty International calls the largest in at least 15 years.
“With an average number of hangings per day in recent weeks, Iran appears to be carrying out executions on an industrial scale, contrary to all accepted standards of human rights protection,” the UN experts said.
The UN panel said 10 people have been executed on espionage charges this year and eight have been executed since 13 June, when Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran. Since the report was published on 29 September, Iran has executed one more person for allegedly spying for Israel.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi called the Iranian authorities’ main goal to show the “violent face of the Islamic Republic.”
“They want to intimidate the public from exploiting the weakness of the political establishment by taking to the streets,” she said .
According to Amnesty International, Iran has the second highest number of annual executions in the world, second only to China.