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
- 8,610
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 8,610 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
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN SENTENCES MAN TO EXECUTION, WOMAN TO FLOGGING AND JAIL
a court in Iran sentenced a woman to 100 lashes and 15 years jail time and an Afghan man to execution on charges of murder, Persian-language websites reported.
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. ISMAYIL MUHEMEDI EXECUTED BY THE IRANIAN AUTHORITIES
the Iranian authorities’ executed the Kurdish political prisoner Ismayil Muhemedi, his brother was reported as telling local media.
- AUGUST 30, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
according to the ”Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America...
according to the ”Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America...
- AUGUST 29, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. SHAHROUDI CALLS FOR SPEEDY EXECUTION OF CRIMINALS
the head of Iran’s Judiciary called harsh and speedy punishments for individuals convicted of a variety of organised crimes, many of which carry the death penalty.
- AUGUST 25, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. EXECUTION PLEA OVER IRAN YOUTHS
Amnesty International called on Iran to halt the execution of two teenagers following their convictions for murder.
- AUGUST 24, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. FOUR YOUNG IRANIANS HANGED PUBLICLY
four Iranian men convicted of robbery, kidnapping and rape -- at least one of whom was under the age of 18 -- were hanged publicly in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, the Kayhan newspaper said.
- AUGUST 24, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a seventeen-year-old musician in Iran is facing imminent execution in public
a seventeen-year-old musician in Iran is facing imminent execution in public after his death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, Etemaad daily reported.
- AUGUST 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. 43 HANGINGS AND DEATH SENTENCES SINCE AHMADINEJAD'S ELECTION
since the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the mullahs' regime has resorted to a frenzied wave of public hangings and death decrees, the National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement.
- AUGUST 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. COURT CONDEMNS TO DEATH FOUR ABDUCTORS OF FEMALE GYNAECOLOGIST
the Islamic Revolution Court of Kerman, Iran, condemned to death by hanging four abductors of a female doctor.
- AUGUST 20, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED ARMED ROBBER HANGED
Mousa Mohsenipour, an Iranian man convicted of armed robbery, drug trafficking and kidnapping was hanged in a prison in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas
- AUGUST 15, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the daily Sharq and the State controlled news agency Fars...
the daily Sharq and the State controlled news agency Fars...
- AUGUST 14, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED PUBLICLY
an Iranian man convicted of murdering an elderly couple was hanged publicly in the central town of Arak, the Iran daily reported.
- AUGUST 14, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
two men, M. Akbar and K. Amir were executed in Ahwaz, Iran
two men, M. Akbar and K. Amir were executed in Ahwaz, Iran
- AUGUST 13, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
an Iranian man convicted of murdering a fellow prisoner during an escape attempt in July was hanged at a jail in the southwestern city of Shiraz, the Etemad newspaper reported.
- AUGUST 11, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
an Iranian man who was convicted of murdering a soldier and was known only by his nickname, "The Runaway Shadow," was been hanged in Tehran, the Iran daily reported.
- AUGUST 11, 2005FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. PARIS PROTEST OVER IRANIAN HANGING OF TWO GAY TEENAGERS
some 150 protestors rallied in central Paris to condemn the July 19 execution of two teenagers who were sentenced to public hanging in Iran because they were gay, event organizers said. Gathered in front of the Pompidou Centre, demonstrators chanted "Iran
- AUGUST 10, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Sharq daily wrote that three men, Amir-Reza, Mehdi and Akbar, were hanged in Tehran on the charge of murder.
Sharq daily wrote that three men, Amir-Reza, Mehdi and Akbar, were hanged in Tehran on the charge of murder.
- AUGUST 9, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the state-controlled daily Etemad reported that three persons...
the state-controlled daily Etemad reported that three persons...
- AUGUST 8, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran’s Supreme Court has given the green light for the hanging of a 16-year-old schoolboy in Tehran
Iran’s Supreme Court has given the green light for the hanging of a 16-year-old schoolboy in Tehran
- JULY 31, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
HOLLAND-SWEDEN. GAY EXTRADITIONS TO IRAN BLOCKED
the Netherlands has become the second country to halt extraditions of gays to Iran in the wake of reports two gay teens were hanged after being found found "guilty of homosexuality".
- JULY 31, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
according to the ”Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America...
according to the ”Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America...
- JULY 28, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. HANGING OF TEENAGERS VIOLATES INTL LAW, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Iran's executions of juvenile offenders on July 19 violated international law, Human Rights Watch said. The organization condemned the public hangings of two teenagers, aged 18 and 16, after they were found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy
- JULY 27, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
US CONDEMNS IRANIAN EXECUTIONS, SAYS DUE PROCESS DENIED
The US State Department responded critically to 10 recent executions in Iran, saying the rights of defendants weren't safeguarded.
- JULY 26, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
EUROPEAN UNION. EU CONCERNED OVER EXECUTION OF TWO IRANIAN BOYS
the European Union expressed concern over reports of executions of two Iranian youths in Mashhad on July 19.
- JULY 26, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. MAN HANGED IN SOUTHERN PORT CITY FOR MURDER
an Iranian man was hanged at dawn in a prison in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the Iranian state-run daily Aftab Yazd said.
- JULY 25, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
EUROPEAN UNION. PANNELLA CALLS FOR END TO ALL DEALINGS WITH IRAN
MEP and Hands Off Cain President Marco Panella deposited a parliamentary question to the European Commission regarding the European bloc’s relations with Iran.
- JULY 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. NOBEL LAUREATE SLAMS TEEN HANGINGS
Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi condemned the hanging of two teenagers accused of raping younger boys in north-eastern Iran, a punishment that also prompted protests by the international community and rights groups.
- JULY 19, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. TWO MEN PUBLICLY HANGED FOR RAPING TEENAGER
Mahmoud Asgari, 16, and Ayaz Marhoni, 18, two men convicted for raping a teenage boy were hanged in public in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad
- JULY 16, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER HANGED PUBLICLY
Eyvazali Hosseinzadeh, an Iranian man convicted of murder, was hanged in public in northwestern Ardebil province for killing a man in 1999.
- JULY 13, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. MAN PUBLICLY HANGED FOR MURDER OF POLICEMAN
Ali Safarpour, a 20 year old Iranian man convicted of killing police officer Hamid Enshadi, was hanged in public in Poldokhtar in the western province of Lorestan.