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
- JUNE 12, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Following the fourth session of the EU/Iran human rights...
Following the fourth session of the EU/Iran human rights dialogue in Tehran, the Federation Internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) sent a note to member states confirming that the prospects of reform in Iran were less than positive, partic
- JUNE 12, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
a man whose death sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court was hanged
a man whose death sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court was hanged
- JUNE 11, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
a woman, Monireh Ghasempour, was hanged in public in Tehran
a woman, Monireh Ghasempour, was hanged in public in Tehran
- JUNE 7, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Three Iranians convicted of rape, kidnapping and extortion...
Three Iranians convicted of rape, kidnapping and extortion were hanged publicly in the western city of Khoramabad, the conservative Jaam-e Jam newspaper reported
- JUNE 7, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran had stepped up its suppression of political opposition...
Iran had stepped up its suppression of political opposition with an intense campaign of torture and arbitrary arrests, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report released
- JUNE 7, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
five members of the Islamic Society of the University of Ferdowsi
five members of the Islamic Society of the University of Ferdowsi
- JUNE 6, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
For the second time the Supreme Court voided the hanging...
For the second time the Supreme Court voided the hanging sentences issued to six members of the Basij, a militant Islamic group of the Iranian regime, thought to be responsible for the murder of five people they had accused of committing "immoral" acts
- JUNE 6, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
twenty-four men as well as 14 women who had participated in a night party in Mashad were arrested
twenty-four men as well as 14 women who had participated in a night party in Mashad were arrested
- JUNE 1, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Mohammad Reza Foulad Amoli, head of Mazandaran's judiciary...
Mohammad Reza Foulad Amoli, head of Mazandaran's judiciary...
- MAY 31, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran's Supreme Court decided to quash a death sentence...
Iran's Supreme Court decided to quash a death sentence on dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari and would announce the decision shortly, the Iranian student news agency ISNA reported
- MAY 30, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
agents arrested 32 men and women at a birthday party.
agents arrested 32 men and women at a birthday party.
- MAY 30, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
according to the decree issued by...
according to the decree issued by...
- MAY 29, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian judiciary had started to take steps to...
The Iranian judiciary had started to take steps to quash the death sentence re-imposed on dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari, following orders from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the official IRNA news agency reported
- MAY 26, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
the hand of a man in Andimeshk was cut off in public
the hand of a man in Andimeshk was cut off in public
- MAY 23, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
the flogging verdict for two young men who were sentenced to 75 whips
the flogging verdict for two young men who were sentenced to 75 whips
- MAY 22, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
a man in Ahwaz was sentenced to five times execution
a man in Ahwaz was sentenced to five times execution
- MAY 20, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
The Umbrella exile Iranian opposition party, the National...
The Umbrella exile Iranian opposition party, the National Council of the Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that some 3,800 members of its Iraq-based military wing, the People's Mujahideen, must not be extradited to Iran, where they would face torture and ex
- MAY 18, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian parliament passed legislation introducing...
The Iranian parliament passed legislation introducing the death penalty as maximum punishment for those found guilty of human trafficking
- MAY 17, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian Judiciary denied having received any decree...
The Iranian Judiciary denied having received any decree from supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i to review a court ruling on the execution of jailed dissident Hashem Aghajari
- MAY 15, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iranian reformist academic Hashem Aghajari, whose death...
Iranian reformist academic Hashem Aghajari, whose death sentence for blasphemy in 2002 led to mass protests, is unlikely to be executed although a provincial court has upheld the sentence, his lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said
- MAY 15, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the...
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the head of the justice department to re-examine "as quickly as possible" the file on dissident intellectual Hashem Aghajari, condemned to death for blasphemy, the student news agency ISNA said
- MAY 14, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari's death sentence...
Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari's death sentence for blasphemy will most probably be quashed by the supreme court, the student news agency ISNA said, quoting the head of the judiciary in western Hamadan province, Zekrollah Ahmadi
- MAY 13, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Three Iranians convicted of murder were hanged in Tehran...
Three Iranians convicted of murder were hanged in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad, Iranian dailies reported
- MAY 13, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
a man named Sammy Kh. was sentenced to 80 whips
a man named Sammy Kh. was sentenced to 80 whips
- MAY 12, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Hoseyn Shari'atmadari, managing editor of the Iranian...
Hoseyn Shari'atmadari, managing editor of the Iranian daily Keyhan Persian, criticized the chief of the Judiciary Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi for his failure to put an end to the unjustifiable death sentence against academic Hashem Aghajari
- MAY 11, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Some 600 students gathered at Tehran University to...
Some 600 students gathered at Tehran University to hear the sister of jailed Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, denounce "religion in the service of power"
- MAY 10, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Salman Nassiri, 30, was hanged in a prison in the city...
Salman Nassiri, 30, was hanged in a prison in the city of Lahijan, northern Iran
- MAY 10, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian judge who reconfirmed a controversial death...
An Iranian judge who reconfirmed a controversial death sentence against dissident Hashem Aghajari ignored objections to the original sentence made by the Supreme Court, newspapers quoted his lawyer as saying
- MAY 9, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
The Association of the Defenders of Human Rights issued...
The Association of the Defenders of Human Rights issued a statement following the confirmation of the verdict in Hashem Agajari's case at the Iranian court of the first instance in Hamedan
- MAY 9, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
in a joint session of the cabinet and the Majlis, mullahs’ President Mohammad Khatami
in a joint session of the cabinet and the Majlis, mullahs’ President Mohammad Khatami