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
- FEBRUARY 25, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Kayhan daily reported that a 28-year-old man by...
The Kayhan daily reported that a 28-year-old man by the name of Nabi was executed in Shiraz
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A youth was sentenced to execution in Tehran
A youth was sentenced to execution in Tehran
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Justice Department head announced the public hanging...
The Justice Department head announced the public hanging of two young men Amir Hoseyn Mashti and Ali Soltani, after the Supreme Court confirmed their death sentences
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The head of the Judiciary, [Mahmud] Hashemi-Shahrudi...
The head of the Judiciary, [Mahmud] Hashemi-Shahrudi participated in a gathering of Tehran University students and responded to the questions they put to him
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A bandit named Ali Dozd [Ali, the Thief] or Ali Saddam...
A bandit named Ali Dozd [Ali, the Thief] or Ali Saddam [after notorious Iraqi President Saddam Husayn] was hanged in public in Anduhjerd
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Faghir Gangar Zehi was executed in prison in Kerman, Iran
Faghir Gangar Zehi was executed in prison in Kerman, Iran
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Afghan national - named Jabbar Tajik, son of Jamal...
An Afghan national - named Jabbar Tajik, son of Jamal - was hanged in Amol for breaking into a house and raping a woman
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three prisoners, Mohammad Hossein Mobaraki, Davoud...
Three prisoners, Mohammad Hossein Mobaraki, Davoud Dadashzadeh and Mohammed Asgari were hanged in the early hours in Tehran's Qasr prison
- FEBRUARY 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A Tehran court passed two death sentences on Fath Ali...
A Tehran court passed two death sentences on Fath Ali Moradi, and another death sentence on another man
- FEBRUARY 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A convicted murderer was publicly hanged in the northern...
A convicted murderer was publicly hanged in the northern city of Qazvin, the daily Iran reported
- FEBRUARY 16, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court in Kerman sentenced two men, 23 and...
An Iranian court in Kerman sentenced two men, 23 and 24-years-old, to death
- FEBRUARY 14, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The death sentence issued by Iran's late revolutionary...
The death sentence issued by Iran's late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against the British author Salman Rushdie, who was accused of blaspheming Islam is irrevocable, the Islamic Revolution Martyr Foundation said
- FEBRUARY 14, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hassan Nedai was hanged in public in Takestan, Iran
Hassan Nedai was hanged in public in Takestan, Iran
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in the northwestern Iranian province of Khorasan...
A court in the northwestern Iranian province of Khorasan handed out 11 death sentences to Saeed Hanaii
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hojjat ol-Eslam Gharavian, a lecturer at Qom seminary...
Hojjat ol-Eslam Gharavian, a lecturer at Qom seminary and a hard-line cleric said Imam Khomeyni's fatwa on Salman Rushdie still stands and every single Muslim may carry out the verdict
- FEBRUARY 12, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iraj Rashvan was executed in Takestan, Iran
Iraj Rashvan was executed in Takestan, Iran
- 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