Executions
Archive theme
An execution is the act by which a state puts a condemned person to death. Hands Off Cain records the cases documented by public sources: press agencies, local newspapers, human rights organisations, official statements. The figure that results is a confirmed minimum, not an estimate of the real total: several states publish no data on executions, and in some countries they are not announced even to the families.
This page collects the news on the executions recorded by the association. The totals by country and by year are in the database.
Latest news
FEBRUARY 5, 2026SomaliaDEATH PENALTYSOMALIA: WOMAN EXECUTED FOR MURDERING A CHILD IN A CASE THAT SPARKED OUTRAGE
The authorities in Puntland, a semi‑autonomous region of Somalia, have executed a woman convicted of murdering a 14‑year‑old girl, in a rare case in the region in which the death penalty has been carried out against a woman.
FEBRUARY 5, 2026JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: COURT REJECTS RETRIAL REQUEST FOR EXECUTED MAN BELIEVED TO HAVE HAD LEPROSY
The Kumamoto District Court on January 28, 2026 rejected a retrial request from the family of a man with leprosy who was executed more than 60 years ago for a 1952 murder despite long claiming his innocence.
- FEBRUARY 4, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 15 people hanged on February 4
FEBRUARY 4, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 people executed in recent days
Iraj Mostafavi, Bakhtiar Shahabi, Hassan Alaeibakhsh, Ali Mohammadpour, Mohammad Javad Namdari, Hashem Abbas
- FEBRUARY 3, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 2 men executed in Gorgan on February 3
Naser Shahmoradi, Ahmad Borhani
- FEBRUARY 3, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 15 people executed on February 3
- FEBRUARY 2, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES FOUR MORE MYANMAR MAFIA MEMBERS
China has executed four members of the Bai family mafia, one of the notorious dynasties that ran scam centres in Myanmar, authorities said on February 2, 2026.
- FEBRUARY 2, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 7 men executed in Lahijan from October to December of 2025
Ghorban Rashidi, Kourosh Zamani, Kianoush Rostami, Payam Nouri, Omid Hatami, Samir Ajamloo, Iman Nejati
- FEBRUARY 2, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 8 men executed in Qaemshahr from October 2025 to January 2026
Shahab Karami, Nemat Mehraban, Yousef Eini, Azim Nourzad, Noushad Alipour, Meysam Rafiei, Jaber Mohammadi, Shahrouz Hosseini
- FEBRUARY 2, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 10 men hanged on February 2
- FEBRUARY 1, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 11 people executed on February 1
Shahriar Farahani, Manoochehr Mehrabi, Nasser Hosseini, Behrouz Hazrati, Fardin Kalami, Mohammadali Moridan, Amin Nasiri, Sajjad Dousti, Peyman Shiri, Hekmat Daryaei, Mostafa Minavand
- JANUARY 31, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 11 men executed on January 31
JANUARY 31, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 1 woman 2 men executed in Isfahan on January 31
Mahnaz Roshani (W), Mehrdad Siahi, Aref Hashemi
- JANUARY 29, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES 11 CRIMINALS LINKED TO MYANMAR-BASED GANGS
China has executed 11 people linked to online scam centres in Myanmar, according to state media, as Beijing toughens its crackdown on the illegal operations.
- JANUARY 29, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Morad Azizi and Karim Nazri executed in Taybad on January 29
- JANUARY 29, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 9 men hanged on January 29
Ardeshir Molaei, Yaser Babakouhi, Golmorad Aghaei, Nosrat Asadi, Hamed Cheraghi, Touraj Nourafkan, Younes Salami, Houshang Khalesi, Soran Ahmadi
- JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Amir Rouhi and Amir Hossein Tavakoli Zanyani executed on January 28
JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hamidreza Sabet Esmailpour executed in Ghezel-Hesar on January 28
On charges of “espionage for Israel”
- JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 11 people executed on January 28
JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hashem Abbasi executed in Ahar on January 28
JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 men executed in Rasht between 7 to 18 January
Mehran Shokat, Mousa Rahbar, Taher Yazdani, Ali Zadakbari, Mansour Asghari + 1
JANUARY 28, 2026TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Charles Thompson, 55, White, was executed on January 28
JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hamidreza Sabet Esmaeilpour executed on January 28
On charges of “espionage for Israel”
JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kaveh Hosseinzadeh executed in Yazd on January 28
JANUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Shiraz on January 28
Seifeddin Mehraban, Namegh Kasravi, Saeed Amjadi, Rahim Mirzazadeh, Ebrahim Abbasi
- JANUARY 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 105th week of the ‘No to Execution Tuesdays’ campaign
- JANUARY 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mehrdad Yaghoubi-Mehr killed in Tehran on 8 January
- JANUARY 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Abolfazl Beig Mohammadi and Javad Haghighat Hanged in Zanjan on January 27
- JANUARY 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 10 men executed on January 26
JANUARY 25, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Leila Judaki Hanged in Qom on January 25
5th woman executed in Iran in January 2026