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.
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
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MAY 1, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hossein Shiravand executed in Khorramabad on May 1
MAY 1, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A Woman Executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on May 1
Only identified as “Saghar”
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Gilak dissident poet
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APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 men executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on April 30
APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Identified the other two executed in Karaj on April 30
APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 men executed in Mashhad on April 30
Abdolghafar Barahouei, Parviz Dastkaleh, Abdolsamad Gorgij, Javid Golbacheh, Mahdi Azizi + Unk
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APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Moslem Darvishipour and Mohammad Salamat executed in Ahvaz on April 30
APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Houshang Abbasi executed in Tabriz on April 30
APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Three more people executed in Ghezel Hesar on April 30
Unidentified
APRIL 30, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehdi Zeinali executed in Mashhad on April 30
APRIL 28, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abolfazl Kianpour Hanged in Ahvaz on April 28
APRIL 28, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men 1 woman executed in Isfahan on April 28
Marjan Sabzi, Reza Khaledi, Naser Feyzi, Rouhollah Palangi, Mohammad Tootazehie, Abdolrashid Barahouei
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APRIL 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Qader Samimi executed in Nishapur on April 26
- APRIL 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Akbar Shekhi executed in Hamedan on April 23
APRIL 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - At Least 5 Prisoners Executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on April 23
Salahuddin Amoudi, Mahmoud-Ali Naseri, Akbar Mousavi, Amanollah Barahouei, Abdollah Pashtooi
APRIL 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehran Zolfi and Asghar Nourinia executed in Tabriz on April 23
- APRIL 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Nezam Sadeghi executed in Zanjan on April 23
APRIL 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Hossein Zamani executed in Nahavand on April 23
- APRIL 22, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Vahid Narouei (Narui) and Yaroli Mahmoudvand executed in Yazd on April 22
APRIL 22, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Reza Tabarteh Farahani executed in Arak on April 22
On the charge of “sodomy”
APRIL 22, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Rashid Seyedzadeh executed in Yazd on April 22
APRIL 22, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 Christian Converts Sentenced to 41 Years in Prison
Mehran Shamlooei, Abbas Soori, and Narges Nasri
- APRIL 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN Mahan Heydari (Heidari) executed in Ahvaz on April 21
APRIL 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehdi Fathollahpour executed in Rasht on April 21
APRIL 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Saeed Darikvand executed in Khorramabad on April 21
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