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
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A woman and a man were stoned to death in a west Iranian...
A woman and a man were stoned to death in a west Iranian town after 15 years of imprisonment, the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (CNRI) said
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Tehran's Justice Department has announced that next...
Tehran's Justice Department has announced that next week five members of a gang known as Karkas-ha [Vultures] will be hanged simultaneously in five different districts of Tehran
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
State-run dailies reported the execution of a woman...
State-run dailies reported the execution of a woman in Tabriz, the Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported in the October issue of its monthly bulletin 'Women' published on the Iran Mohajedin website
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Six men were hanged in Iran since September 16 and...
Six men were hanged in Iran since September 16 and eight others face the same sentence after being convicted on charges ranging from murder to armed robbery, newspapers said
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Rioting broke out in Mahabad, northwestern Iran, after...
Rioting broke out in Mahabad, northwestern Iran, after police killed three people smuggling alcoholic beverages, the Resalat newspaper reported
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man convicted of murdering his wife was hanged in...
A man convicted of murdering his wife was hanged in a prison in north-eastern Iran
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) said...
The World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) said official Iranian media reported 250 executions since the beginning of 2002
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Jomhuri-Ye Eslami daily reported that a man convicted...
The Jomhuri-Ye Eslami daily reported that a man convicted of armed robbery was hanged in public in southern Iran
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian man cut off his seven-year-old daughter's...
An Iranian man cut off his seven-year-old daughter's head after suspecting she had been raped by her uncle, the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper said
- SEPTEMBER 1, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court for the first time granted the family...
An Iranian court for the first time granted the family of a murdered Christian man the same "blood money", or compensation, as that of a Muslim, the official news agency IRNA reported
- AUGUST 22, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three men were hanged in Tehran's Qasr prison after...
Three men were hanged in Tehran's Qasr prison after being convicted of murder in separate cases
- AUGUST 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man convicted of blackmailing and killing two men...
A man convicted of blackmailing and killing two men was hanged in Tehran's Qasr prison
- AUGUST 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Ali Mazidi was hanged in prison in Tehran
Ali Mazidi was hanged in prison in Tehran
- AUGUST 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Rassul was hanged in public in Najaf Abad, Iran
Rassul was hanged in public in Najaf Abad, Iran
- AUGUST 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hassan was sentenced to death in Tehran
Hassan was sentenced to death in Tehran
- AUGUST 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A 17-year-old, Milad B
A 17-year-old, Milad B
- AUGUST 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hossein was given a death sentence by a court in Tehran
Hossein was given a death sentence by a court in Tehran
- AUGUST 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A senior Iranian cleric called for the execution of...
A senior Iranian cleric called for the execution of a university professor who claimed that Islamic fundamentalism had taken hold of the country's ruling elite
- AUGUST 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The head of Iran's Assembly of Experts, Great Ayatollah...
The head of Iran's Assembly of Experts, Great Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, has sought the death penalty for a pro-reform journalist who allegedly insulted Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in a speech in the western city of Hamedan
- AUGUST 5, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men were sentenced to death in Lavasan, Iran
Two men were sentenced to death in Lavasan, Iran
- AUGUST 5, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two convicted Afghan rapists were publicly hanged in...
Two convicted Afghan rapists were publicly hanged in suburban Tehran for raping two Afghan girls
- AUGUST 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Emam Ali was sentenced to death in the Iranian capital...
Emam Ali was sentenced to death in the Iranian capital Tehran
- JULY 31, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in Shiraz, southern Iran, condemned Rahim S
A court in Shiraz, southern Iran, condemned Rahim S
- JULY 30, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Tehran courts sentenced two people to death
Tehran courts sentenced two people to death
- JULY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Rohollah M
Rohollah M
- JULY 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men, one identified as Fatemeh, were sentenced...
Two men, one identified as Fatemeh, were sentenced to execution in Tehran
- JULY 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh...
The Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh rejected the Iraqi government assertions on arresting and execution of two individuals allegedly spying for Iran
- JULY 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A woman was sentenced to execution in Tehran
A woman was sentenced to execution in Tehran
- JULY 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Tehran court condemned a young man to death, the...
An Tehran court condemned a young man to death, the Khorasan daily reported
- JULY 22, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Aram A
Aram A
