Iran executed at least 900 people since January, rights group says
Over 900 Death Sentences Carried Out in Iran Since January, Rights Monitor Reports
Poinews.com – The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran has published findings showing that no fewer than 901 people were put to death in the country between January and July 2026. An additional 28 executions took place in August, pushing the total past the 900 mark for the year to date.
A Surge Across Multiple Categories
The organization characterized the data as evidence of a steep climb in capital punishment across several case types. Drug-related offences alone accounted for at least 268 of the documented killings. Political and national-security charges led to the execution of at least 56 individuals, broken down as follows: 29 connected to public demonstrations, 13 charged with espionage, and 14 facing other security-related accusations.
Ethnic Minorities and Other Vulnerable Groups
The report underscores a disproportionate toll borne by minority communities. At least 98 members of ethnic minorities were executed during the seven-month window. That figure encompasses 40 Baluch, 29 Kurds, 21 Afghans, six Arabs, one Turk, and one Turkman. Among the dead were 16 women and two individuals who had been under 18 at the time of their alleged offences. Five of the executions were carried out in public.
Geographic Concentration
Death sentences were not evenly distributed across the country. Razavi Khorasan province recorded the highest count at 95, followed by Isfahan with 71 and Alborz with 57.
Context: A Multi-Year Escalation
The new numbers deepen an already alarming trend. In a report addressed to the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres stated that at least 975 people were reportedly executed in Iran during 2024 — a 17% jump over the prior year and the largest annual total logged since 2015. The trajectory accelerated further in the first half of 2025, when at least 612 executions were recorded between January and June, representing a 119% increase over the equivalent 2024 period.
The UN has repeatedly voiced alarm over Iran's reliance on the death penalty, singling out cases tied to drug offences, national-security prosecutions, and ethnic-minority defendants. The body has also pressed for stronger fair-trial safeguards and an end to the admission of confessions obtained under torture.
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