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
- 8,610
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 8,610 news items on Iran, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- APRIL 10, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - The Bodies of Six Executed Political Prisoners Have Still Not Been Returned to Their Families
Akbar Daneshvar Kar, Seyed Mohammad Taghavi Sang-Dehi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi Bistouni, Seyed Abolhassan Montazer, and Vahid Bani-Amerian
- APRIL 10, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 7 Citizens Arrested on Accusations of Contact with Foreign Media
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Azar Yahoo faces espionage-related charges over social media activity
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Actress Sima Anbaei Farimani faces national security charges
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 Baloch men shot dead by Iranian forces
Belal Hout, Abubakr Pirasteh, Sanaollah Pirasteh
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 34 people arrested for ‘contacts with foreign media’
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 23 people arrested for ‘contacts with foreign media’
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Confiscation of Assets Belonging to 25 Citizens, Including 19 Foreign Nationals
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 1 man arrested for ‘contacts with foreign media’
- APRIL 9, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Sara Sepehri Arrested
- APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Protest Benjamin Naqdi faces possible death sentence
APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Iran deploys proxy forces across multiple cities
APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared released after 16 years
Accused of being a member of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI)
APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - At least nine people arrested for links to international media
APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 40th day of war
Announcement of a Two-Week Ceasefire
APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw Report on 40th day of war
At least 7,650 killed, including 1,030 civilians
APRIL 8, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Naser Taheri and Yahya Masoumi executed in Zanjan on April 8
- APRIL 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Hrana Report on 39th day of war
Extensive Damage to the Rail Network and Roads
- APRIL 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 115th Week of “No to Execution Tuesdays” Continues Despite Blackout
- APRIL 7, 2026JapanDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Japanese citizen released
Shinnosuke Kawashima
- APRIL 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - At Least 102 People Arrested in Connection with the War
- APRIL 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Arrest of 17 people for War-Related Reasons
APRIL 7, 2026FranceDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris Leave Iran for France
APRIL 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mahboubeh Shabani at risk of execution
Arrested during recent protests
- APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mothers Who Gave Their Lives during January 2026 Uprising
- APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - At Least 283 People Arrested in Connection With the War
APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Protester Ali Fahim Hanged on April 6
10 Political Prisoners Executed in 8 Days
APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohsen Eslamkhah, 19-year-old protester, sentenced to death
APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 38th day of war
Highest Rate of Strikes in the Past Ten Days
APRIL 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yaghoub Karimpour faces imminent execution