Human rights in Iran
The 1979 coup d'état is thought to have a significantly worse human rights record than the Pahlavi Dynasty it removed. According to political historian Ervand Abrahamian, "whereas less than 100 political prisoners had been executed between 1971 and 1979, more than 7900 were executed between 1981 and 1985. ... the prison system was centralized and drastically expanded ... Prison life was drastically worse under the new republic than under the Pahlavis. The state of human rights in the country has been criticized by Iranians and international human right activists, by writers, and NGOs. The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission