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
- 8,611
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 8,611 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
APRIL 27, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Tabriz on April 27
Sohrab Hokmabad, Amir Moharami and Davoud Namiari
APRIL 27, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Iraj Sanambari executed in Arak on April 27
APRIL 25, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 1 woman and 2 men executed in Karaj on April 25
The woman identified only as Sahar, or Shahnaz
APRIL 25, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Farzad Khademi executed in Saqqez on April 25
- APRIL 24, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Javad Asgari executed in Arak on April 24
APRIL 24, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Toomaj Salehi, a protest rapper, sentenced to death
APRIL 24, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Karaj on April 24
Shahram Sharghi, Ali Reza Aghaei and Pezhman Azizi
APRIL 24, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yavar Aminkhah executed in Saveh on April 24
- APRIL 23, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Iranian Rapper's Death Sentence Changed To 5 Years In Prison
Kurdish dissident rapper Saman Yasin was arrested during nationwide protests in 2022
APRIL 23, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hossein Ali Sobhani executed in Gorgan on April 23
APRIL 21, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdolbari Pashtu and Alireza Pourshahbaz (Shahbaz) executed in Karaj on April 21
APRIL 21, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Taybad on April 21
Esmaeil Esmaeil-Zadeh, Mohammad-Amin Mohammad-Pour + Unk
- APRIL 21, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ali Khoshavaz executed in Karaj on April 21
- APRIL 21, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Shiraz on April 21
Hossein Tawana Kodiani, Reza Masrour, Taleb Akbari
APRIL 20, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Kerman on April 20
Ahmadreza Miri, Shamseddin Kashani, Shokat Shehbakhsh (Darkzehi), Jamal Mardani + Unk
APRIL 20, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Saeed Jadgal and Mohammad Anjamrooz executed in Chabahar on April 20
- APRIL 18, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed in Mashhad on April 18
Zaman Taheri, Salam Taheri, Gholam Ghader Samani, and Ebrahim Nour-Zahi
APRIL 18, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Fariborz Dadgar executed in Ahvaz on April 18
- APRIL 18, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ali Movahedi executed in Karaj on April 18
- APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Two men executed in Karaj on April 17, 2024
Sadegh Tajik + Unk
- APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Karaj on April 17
APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Valiollah Bakhtavar executed in Tabriz on April 17
APRIL 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Amin Mousavi Bakhshayesh executed in Tabriz on April 17
APRIL 16, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Afshin Bagh-Shirin executed in Urmia on April 16
APRIL 15, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 unidentified men executed in Mashhad on April 15
After the traditional slowdown during Ramadan, executions in Iran have resumed at full speed
- APRIL 14, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Arsalan Hashemi executed in Hamedan on April 14
- APRIL 13, 2024IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Abuzar Salem executed in Isfahan on April 13
APRIL 11, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Esmaeil Hosniani and Marjan Hajizadeh executed in Zanjan on April 11
Husband and 19 year old wife
APRIL 10, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 82 Rights Groups: UNODC Must Stop Complicity in Drug Executions in Iran
Hands off Cain amongst the signatories
APRIL 10, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hadi Mirgozar executed on April 10 at unspecified prison