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
- 9,143
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 9,143 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
- JUNE 24, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Teheran's criminal court sentenced a woman and a young man...
Teheran's criminal court sentenced a woman and a young man who together had killed the women's elderly husband, to death
JUNE 20, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. COUNTRY STILL STONING WOMEN, SAYS NOBEL LAUREATE
Shirin Ebadi, a leading Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Laureate, said that the hardline Islamic regime was still using medieval punishments on its people, including the stoning of women for adultery and the torture of dissidents.
JUNE 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONVICTED SERIAL KILLER HANGED PUBLICLY
Yaghoub Ali Mirshekari, an Iranian man convicted of killing 10 truck drivers to steal their vehicles, was hanged in public in the southeastern city of Zahedan.
JUNE 10, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. MAN SENTENCED TO HAVE EYES GOUGED OUT FOR TEENAGE CRIME
Iran’s State Supreme Court has upheld a sentence for a young man’s eyes to be gouged out and sprayed with acid, for blinding another man at the age of 16 some 12 years ago.
JUNE 7, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. BLOGGER FACES DEATH
organization Reporters Without Borders asked all bloggers to support 25-year-old Mojtaba Saminejad in Iran.
JUNE 6, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. REGIME SENTENCES 13 PRISONERS IN AHWAZ TO DEATH, AMPUTATION AND LONG-TERM IMPRISONMENT
a group of Iranians were handed down harsh sentences ranging from execution and amputation of limbs to lashes and prison time, accused of armed robbery, according to today’s edition of the state-run Kayhan daily.
JUNE 4, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. TWO MEN HANGED FOR TRAFFICKING OPIUM
two Iranian men convicted of drug trafficking were hanged in a prison in the southern city of Kerman.
JUNE 1, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. THREE AFGHANS CONVICTED OF RAPE PUT TO DEATH BY HANGING
three Afghans convicted of raping an Iranian woman and stealing a sheep were hanged in the southern town of Ravar in Iran’s Kerman province. The three men -- identified as Nazar Mohammad, Kheyrollah, and Besmellah -- were reported to have been in the Isla
- MAY 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...
- MAY 28, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. ISLAMIST VIGILANTE SENTENCED TO DEATH
a member of an Islamist vigilante group convicted of a string of murders in Iran was sentenced to death while five other gang members were handed long prison terms.
- MAY 25, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. MAN PUBLICLY HANGED
a young man was hanged in public in the southern Iranian city of Ahwaz, accused of armed robbery and disturbing the peace.
- MAY 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the death sentence of four accused of murder...
the death sentence of four accused of murder...
- MAY 23, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Tehran's 71st criminal branch sentenced four people to death. No further details were given
Tehran's 71st criminal branch sentenced four people to death. No further details were given
MAY 22, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONVICTED RAPIST HANGED PUBLICLY
Rahmatollah Ghanbarzehi Gorgich, an Iranian man convicted of raping a female student, was hanged in public in the southeastern city of Zahedan, in the Sistan-Baluchestan province.
- MAY 18, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. JUDICIARY DENIES STONING VERDICT FOR LOVER'S MURDERESS
judiciary denied newspaper reports that a mother of two who strangled her lover had been sentenced to death by stoning, saying sentence had yet to be passed in the case.
- MAY 18, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a man, identified as Hossein Gholi, was sentenced to death in Tehran
a man, identified as Hossein Gholi, was sentenced to death in Tehran
- MAY 11, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. THREE CONVICTED MURDERERS PUBLICLY HANGED
it was reported that three Iranian men convicted of raping and murdering a young boy were publicly hanged in Susangerd, a town in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan.
MAY 10, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
an Iranian man convicted of murder has been hanged in prison in the Caspian Sea town of Noshahr, the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper reported.
- MAY 7, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Abdolrabi, 41, was sentenced to death in Iran
Abdolrabi, 41, was sentenced to death in Iran
- MAY 7, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the Head of the Judiciary ordered the local judiciary in Mashhad not to proceed...
the Head of the Judiciary ordered the local judiciary in Mashhad not to proceed with the Abbas Hosseini’s execution, and referred his case to the judiciary in Tehran for review.
- MAY 4, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
according to a statement issued by the Komele Organization,
according to a statement issued by the Komele Organization,
MAY 4, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. FIVE CONVICTED MURDERERS HANGED
five men convicted of murder or armed robbery were hanged in Iran, one of them publicly in the southwestern city of Ahvaz and four others in a prison in the capital, officials said.
MAY 4, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. PROMISES GIVEN TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO HALT THE EXECUTION OF MINORS
Iran gave written assurances to the European Parliament that it would cease executing people found guilty of crimes committed before their eighteenth birthday.
- MAY 3, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a man, Bakshesh Mohamad, was executed in Theran
a man, Bakshesh Mohamad, was executed in Theran
- MAY 2, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. MAN HANGED IN PRISON
a man accused of murdering a taxi driver was hanged in Karoon Prison in the southern Iranian city of Ahwaz, according to the state-run news agency.
- APRIL 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...
APRIL 30, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. GAY BLACKMAILER HANGED
Hadi Safdari, an Iranian convicted of blackmailing his gay partners with videotapes of their sex acts, was hanged. Safdari was executed in Bojnourd in the eastern province of South Khorasan, the Qods newspaper said citing the local judiciary.
- APRIL 28, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a 50 year old melon seller was sentenced to death by Brach 74 of the punitive court
a 50 year old melon seller was sentenced to death by Brach 74 of the punitive court
- APRIL 27, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a 22 year old man, identified by his first name Ismail, was given a death sentence
a 22 year old man, identified by his first name Ismail, was given a death sentence
- APRIL 27, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
Mohsen Khoshdel, a 33 year old man was sentenced to death
Mohsen Khoshdel, a 33 year old man was sentenced to death