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
- 9,147
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 9,147 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
- OCTOBER 24, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Offences punishable by death include:
Offences punishable by death include:
- OCTOBER 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Etemaad daily reported that three men were sentenced to death in Iran.
Etemaad daily reported that three men were sentenced to death in Iran.
- OCTOBER 19, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a Tehran penal court sentenced, a young man
a Tehran penal court sentenced, a young man
OCTOBER 17, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. WOMAN SENTENCED TO EXECUTION
an Iranian woman was sentenced to execution in the Iranian capital Tehran.
OCTOBER 15, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY STONING
it was reported that an Iranian woman found guilty of having an extra-marital affair with an Afghan and being an accomplice in the murder of her husband was sentenced to death by stoning.
- OCTOBER 12, 2005IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. IRAN FINALISES GENOCIDE, OTHER CHARGES AGAINST SADDAM
Iran's judiciary said it had finalised charges of genocide and using chemical weapons it hoped would be leveled against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
OCTOBER 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYEUROPEAN UNION. EU SAYS IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD DETERIORATING
the European Union severely criticised Iran's human rights record, saying its performance on the death penalty, freedom of expression and religious liberty had deteriorated.
OCTOBER 9, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH
the state-run daily Iran wrote "The Judiciary in Shahriar sentenced to death a 17-year-old, named Hamid."
- OCTOBER 5, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
UNITED NATIONS. CANADA TO BLAST 'POOR' IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD AT UN
Canada planned to dress down Iran by presenting a resolution at the United Nations to address Tehran's "poor regard for human rights," officials announced.
- OCTOBER 3, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. SENTENCED TO THREE HANGINGS
it was reported by Iranian press that a 26 year old man was condemned to “three hangings”.
OCTOBER 3, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. SENTENCED TO DEATH AT 17, EXECUTION DUE SOON
a boy sentenced to death at 17 years of age will be executed, reported the Iranian daily Etemad.
- OCTOBER 2, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. IRANIAN WOMAN TO DIE FOR MURDER OF FOOTBALLER'S WIFE
Iran's supreme court upheld a death sentence against Khadijeh Shahla Jahed, a jealous woman who murdered the wife of a former national football hero.
- OCTOBER 1, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the head of Isfahan’s Criminal Justice Complex said that the death sentence for Hamidreza
the head of Isfahan’s Criminal Justice Complex said that the death sentence for Hamidreza
- SEPTEMBER 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...
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED DRUG TRAFFICKER HANGED
an Iranian man convicted of drug trafficking was hanged in the northern city of Sari, in Iran’s Mazandaran province, the Kayhan daily reported.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. YOUNG MAN HANGED FOR RAPE
a young man was publicly hanged at a riverside in the Iranian town of Kashan, south of the capital, the country’s state-run news agency reported.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. FORCED TO FLEE COUNTRY, HE RISKED THE DEATH PENALTY FOR BEING GAY
the Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization has released photos and details of a 22 year old man it says was given 100 lashes for being gay.
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
an Iranian man was hanged in public in the volatile town of Ahwaz
an Iranian man was hanged in public in the volatile town of Ahwaz
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. YOUTH HANGED IN CENTRAL IRAN PRISON
a young Iranian man was hanged in a penitentiary centre in the city of Yazd, central Iran.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the death sentence for a young man who had killed his wife in a domestic dispute...
the death sentence for a young man who had killed his wife in a domestic dispute...
SEPTEMBER 14, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
Ali Fesahat, an Iranian man convicted of murder, was hanged in a prison in the central province of Yazd, for murdering 22-year-old Ahmad Kheyrandish.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE TO CONTINUE, EUROPEAN COMMISSION
the European Commission shares in the concern on the human rights situation in Iran, particularly with regards to the death penalty, but does not indent to interrupt the politics of constructive dialogue with the regime.
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN TO HANG 19-YEAR-OLD MOTHER
a young Iranian mother was sentenced to execution in the town of Langaroud, northern Iran, the semi-official daily Jomhouri Islami reported.
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran daily reported that death sentences were issued for three persons
Iran daily reported that death sentences were issued for three persons
SEPTEMBER 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. YOUNG MAN HANGED IN PUBLIC FOR TEENAGE CRIME
a young man was hanged in public in the southern town of Kazeroun, in Fars Province, for a crime he had committed when he was a minor.
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a Tehran penal court sentenced, a young woman, to death.
a Tehran penal court sentenced, a young woman, to death.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. KURDISH ACTIVIST HANGED IN PRISON
Mohammad Panj-Bini and Esmail Mohammadi, twoiranian Kurdish activists, were hanged in a prison in the town of Orumieh, northwest Iran, for their opposition to the Iranian regime, opposition websites reported.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2005AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYIRAN 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...