13/04/2026
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13/04/2026
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TEHRAN, Apr 13: Iranian authorities carried out at least 1,639 executions in 2025, the highest annual figure since 1989, according to a joint report released by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The report said the total marks a 68% increase compared to 975 executions recorded in 2024 and averages more than four executions per day.
The NGOs said the figure represents an “absolute minimum,” as Iran Human Rights verifies executions through multiple sources, many of which are not officially reported by Iranian authorities. The report added that 48 women were among those executed in 2025, marking the highest number of women executions in more than two decades.
The rights groups warned that Iran may increasingly rely on capital punishment as a tool of repression following unrest, including January protests and ongoing regional tensions involving the United States and Israel. “If the Islamic republic survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression,” the report stated.
Iran Human Rights director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said authorities carried out “an average of four to five executions per day” in 2025 to create fear and deter dissent, while ECPM executive director Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan said the death penalty is being used as a political instrument, with ethnic minorities disproportionately affected.
The report noted that nearly half of those executed were convicted of drug-related offences, while ethnic minorities such as Kurds and Baluch were heavily represented among those sentenced to death. It also said at least 11 public executions were recorded, more than triple the previous year.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have long said Iran remains among the world’s top executioners, carrying out the highest number of executions per capita globally and second only to China in total numbers, though reliable data on China remains unavailable.
