Iran
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 869
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 2,156
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The 1999 figures for capital sentences and executions...
- News items in the archive
- 9,218
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Iran is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 869 executions in the country, against 2,156 the year before. The archive holds 9,218 news items on Iran, from 1999 to today.
Iran is one of the countries where the association records the highest number of executions each year. The usual method is hanging, and capital punishment applies to a wide list of offences: murder, drug offences, offences against state security, sexual offences, and charges such as moharebeh, enmity against God, which allow very broad application.
Many executions are never announced. They emerge from local sources, from human rights organisations and from families. For Iran, more than anywhere else, the archive's count is a documented minimum.
Latest news
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Massive 40th-Day Gatherings Across Iran Challenge the Regime
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 26 Protesters Sentenced to Death, Hundreds More at Risk
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hassan Narouei executed in Sarakhs February 19
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Execution of 8 Prisoners on February 19
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Javad Zarei executed in Torbat-e Heydarieh on February 19
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - More protests
On the occasion of traditional commemorations 40 days after the death
FEBRUARY 18, 2026TürkiyeDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Morteza Amiri and Shahrbanou Beykramiani could be deported from Turkey to Iran.
Turkey has a troubling tradition of collaboration with Iran.
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 40-Day Mourning Ceremonies Spark Renewed Protests
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: Mohammad Rahmati’s Father Forced to Blame “Terrorists” for His Son’s Killing
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sajad Ahmadi executed in Malayer on February 18
- FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 13 men executed on February 18
FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 520 men and 8 women executed in Iran since the beginning of 2026
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 12 prisoners executed on February 17
FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: Shahabeddin Sameni Killed by Sniper
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed on February 17
FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Information about people arrested during the January 2026 riots
- FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 12 men executed on February 16
FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mina Nasirpour, a woman, executed in Tabriz on February 16
9th woman hanged in 2026
FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sadegh Manafi executed in Tabriz on February 16
FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: Amirhossein Saeedi killed in hospital
FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 15th Day of Protests: Sharp Rise in Human Casualties
FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on Day 50 of the Protests: 7,015 confirmed fatalities, 11,744 under review
FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw Report on 330 victims
- FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 16 men and a woman executed on February 14 and 15
More than 500 executions in Iran since the beginning of 2026
- FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 7 death sentences were carried out on Feb. 15
Asghar Esmaeili, Vahid Karami, Einollah Rahimzadeh, Farzad Fazli, Davoud Ghafouri, Sadeq Manafi, Hassan Doosti
- FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Reza Karami executed in Dorud on February 15
- FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ehsan Rajabi executed in Kashan on February 15
FEBRUARY 15, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Navid Shabanian executed in Kashmar on February 15
FEBRUARY 14, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on the 49th day of protests: 7,010 confirmed fatalities, 11,744 under review
“Unidentified Bodies” and the Continued Judicial Case-Building
- FEBRUARY 14, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 12 people executed on February 14
4 other executions were already reported