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
- FEBRUARY 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A Tehran court condemned a man to death
A Tehran court condemned a man to death
- FEBRUARY 6, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men were condemned to death Shahriar, Iran
Two men were condemned to death Shahriar, Iran
- FEBRUARY 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court sentenced three men - Keyvan Razaghi,...
An Iranian court sentenced three men - Keyvan Razaghi, Kamran Razaghi and Hamdalah Z
- FEBRUARY 2, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man was hanged in public in Abar Kouh, Iran
A man was hanged in public in Abar Kouh, Iran
- FEBRUARY 2, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A woman identified only by her first name, Sima, was...
A woman identified only by her first name, Sima, was condemned to death by stoning in Iran
- FEBRUARY 2, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A Tehran court sentenced Mohammed Reza to death
A Tehran court sentenced Mohammed Reza to death
- JANUARY 31, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said in a written...
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said in a written fatwa or religious ruling that "In certain circumstances, death by stoning can be replaced by other methods of punishment," opening the way for women lawmakers who have campaigned against the practic
- JANUARY 30, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A convicted murderer was hanged in public in the town...
A convicted murderer was hanged in public in the town of Abarkouh, in central Iran
- JANUARY 28, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Karim Tougly was hanged in prison in Mahabad, Iran
Karim Tougly was hanged in prison in Mahabad, Iran
- JANUARY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Four men were hanged in prison in Ahvaz, Iran, the...
Four men were hanged in prison in Ahvaz, Iran, the Farsi language newspaper Keyhan reported
- JANUARY 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Eight Iranians were hanged, four of them for rape and...
Eight Iranians were hanged, four of them for rape and the others for the murder and armed robbery of motorist
- JANUARY 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in the ancient central Iranian city of Isfahan...
A court in the ancient central Iranian city of Isfahan sentenced Rasool Chatrali to public hanging, the Farsi language newspaper Jame Jam reported
- JANUARY 22, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hasan Alizadeh was hanged in public in Sabzevar, Iran
Hasan Alizadeh was hanged in public in Sabzevar, Iran
- JANUARY 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Mohammad Poursalehi was hanged in public in Khorramshahr,...
Mohammad Poursalehi was hanged in public in Khorramshahr, Iran
- JANUARY 20, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court in Poldokhtar sentenced Ali Safar...
An Iranian court in Poldokhtar sentenced Ali Safar pour Rajab to death
- JANUARY 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An indicted murderer escaped death with the noose on...
An indicted murderer escaped death with the noose on his neck in Iran's northern city of Lahijan in the Gilan Province after being pardoned by the victim's family, the Persian daily Iran said
- JANUARY 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hamid Karafi was hanged in public in Karaj, near Tehran,...
Hamid Karafi was hanged in public in Karaj, near Tehran, the Farsi language newspaper Ettelaat reported
- JANUARY 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death in Ghom, Iran, the Farsi...
A man was sentenced to death in Ghom, Iran, the Farsi language newspaper Keyhan reported
- JANUARY 16, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A murderer, convicted of killing his son and wife,...
A murderer, convicted of killing his son and wife, was publicly hanged in the northwestern city of Nir, in Iran's Ardabil Province
- JANUARY 16, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A 25-year-old man was executed in Ghazvin, Iran
A 25-year-old man was executed in Ghazvin, Iran
- JANUARY 14, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran executed four men, one of them in public
Iran executed four men, one of them in public
- JANUARY 14, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death in Ghom, Iran
A man was sentenced to death in Ghom, Iran
- JANUARY 13, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Yousef Moini, a bank robber, was hanged in public in...
Yousef Moini, a bank robber, was hanged in public in the northeastern city of Mashhad
- JANUARY 12, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Mostafa K
Mostafa K
- JANUARY 11, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Canada's Supreme Court ruled that refugees who face...
Canada's Supreme Court ruled that refugees who face torture in their homelands "generally" cannot be deported there, unless the evidence shows that their continued presence in Canada poses a serious security risk to the country
- JANUARY 10, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hamid Reza R
Hamid Reza R
- JANUARY 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran's hardline revolutionary court began the trial...
Iran's hardline revolutionary court began the trial in closed session of 15 Iranian activists charged with "conspiring to overthrow the Islamic system"
- JANUARY 6, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian man was publicly hanged for murdering a...
An Iranian man was publicly hanged for murdering a woman and two others were hanged for rape, newspapers said
- JANUARY 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men were sentenced to death in the Iranian city...
Two men were sentenced to death in the Iranian city of Kerman
- JANUARY 2, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A woman was sentenced to death in the Iranian capital...
A woman was sentenced to death in the Iranian capital Tehran, the Farsi language newspaper Afarinesh reported