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
- 9,142
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 9,142 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 1, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A 20-year-old man, Majid Mozaffari, was hanged in a...
A 20-year-old man, Majid Mozaffari, was hanged in a prison in the western city of Ilam for murdering two women
- JUNE 1, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in Tehran condemned Jamal A
A court in Tehran condemned Jamal A
- MAY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Shaaban Ali, a man who killed his wife and brother-in-law...
Shaaban Ali, a man who killed his wife and brother-in-law in January was publicly hanged in the western town of Malayer
- MAY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian military court spared the lives of two secret...
An Iranian military court spared the lives of two secret agents sentenced to death in 2001 for the murder of a dissident and his wife, Iran's IRNA news agency reported
- MAY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Farhad was hanged in public in the ancient central...
Farhad was hanged in public in the ancient central Iranian city of Isfahan
- MAY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Rahim Amiri, an Afghan national, was hanged in public...
Rahim Amiri, an Afghan national, was hanged in public in Semnan, Iran
- MAY 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in Tehran sentenced Mohammed Baksheh to execution
A court in Tehran sentenced Mohammed Baksheh to execution
- MAY 22, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Shirzad Gholami, a convicted murderer was publicly...
Shirzad Gholami, a convicted murderer was publicly hanged in Karaj, west of the capital Tehran
- MAY 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Khorasan daily announced the upcoming execution...
The Khorasan daily announced the upcoming execution of Ghorban M
- MAY 20, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man condemned to die by hanging put on an amazing...
A man condemned to die by hanging put on an amazing show of defiance - by planting a kiss on the rope he was about to swing from
- MAY 20, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Five convicted armed drug traffickers were hanged in...
Five convicted armed drug traffickers were hanged in a prison in Iran
- MAY 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian newspaper Sedaye Edalat said a young man...
The Iranian newspaper Sedaye Edalat said a young man was to be hanged in public the following week in Ghale Hassan
- MAY 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A 40-year-old man was hanged in jail in Rajai Shahr, Iran
A 40-year-old man was hanged in jail in Rajai Shahr, Iran
- MAY 16, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Farsi language newspaper Nowrouz said 20 men were...
The Farsi language newspaper Nowrouz said 20 men were to be hanged in Tehran the following week, including Ali Goosh Shekastah
- MAY 15, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Four convicted murderers were hanged in Tehran
Four convicted murderers were hanged in Tehran
- MAY 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Mohammed A
Mohammed A
- MAY 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A 42-year-old man, Nourmohammad Taheri, was executed...
A 42-year-old man, Nourmohammad Taheri, was executed in Gonabad, Iran
- MAY 1, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A convicted killer was publicly executed in central...
A convicted killer was publicly executed in central city of Kashan in Iran
- APRIL 28, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hossein Butehkan was executed in Kashan, Iran
Hossein Butehkan was executed in Kashan, Iran
- APRIL 28, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A Tehran court handed out a death sentence to Fatemeh,...
A Tehran court handed out a death sentence to Fatemeh, and two unidentified males were condemned to die in Ahwaz
- APRIL 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in Tehran condemned to death Davoud Baghi and Saeed
A court in Tehran condemned to death Davoud Baghi and Saeed
- APRIL 26, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A woman, Ferdows B
A woman, Ferdows B
- APRIL 25, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Four convicted armed robbers were hanged in public...
Four convicted armed robbers were hanged in public in Iran's capital Tehran and another two in a prison, local media reported
- APRIL 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man was hanged in public in Abadan, Iran
A man was hanged in public in Abadan, Iran
- APRIL 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Following the Supreme Court's approval of their sentences,...
Following the Supreme Court's approval of their sentences, a number of people will be executed in the near future for causing social disorder, Chairman of Tehran Province Justice Administration Abbas Ali Alizadeh announced
- APRIL 20, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
In an editorial on April 20, the daily newspaper Iran...
In an editorial on April 20, the daily newspaper Iran News decried the live broadcast of the execution of Sa'id Hana'i, the self-confessed murderer of 16 women, by the Islamic Republic News Broadcasting (IRIB)
- APRIL 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three condemned murderers were hanged in a Tehran prison,...
Three condemned murderers were hanged in a Tehran prison, including Amir Hossein Karimi who went to the gallows for killing his 17-year-old cousin in a fit of jealous rage
- APRIL 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Ali Firouzi was executed in the Iranian holy city of Qom
Ali Firouzi was executed in the Iranian holy city of Qom
- APRIL 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A convicted serial killer who strangled 16 Iranian...
A convicted serial killer who strangled 16 Iranian women with their headscarves was hanged at a prison court in Mashdad, Korashan province
- APRIL 16, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Maurice Copithorne, a special representative of the...
Maurice Copithorne, a special representative of the UN Commission on Human Rights, pointed to instances of serious human right abuses of Iran's Azerbaijani population in his speech at the 58th session of the commission
