Iran executes 800 prisoners in less than eight months, rights group warns of escalation

Iran has carried out at least 800 executions, including 46 Afghans, since the beginning of 2025, averaging nearly 100 executions each month, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.

Figures compiled by Hengaw’s Statistics and Documentation Center show that among those executed were at least 30 political and ideological prisoners, as well as 22 women and one child offender — a person sentenced for a crime committed as a minor, in violation of international law.

The group noted that ethnic and national minorities were disproportionately targeted.

Of those executed, 116 were Kurdish, 107 Lor, 92 Baloch, and 82 Turk. At least 46 Afghan nationals were also executed during this period.

Hengaw described the scale of executions as “alarming,” calling on democratic governments, international organizations, and human rights defenders to take stronger action against what it termed Iran’s systematic use of capital punishment.

The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights is a Norway-based NGO that documents human rights violations in Iran, with a particular focus on Kurdish and other minority regions.

Founded in 2016, Hengaw has developed a reputation as one of the most reliable sources for tracking executions, arbitrary arrests, and crackdowns on ethnic minorities inside Iran.

Iran consistently ranks as the second-highest executioner globally, after China, though precise figures are difficult to verify due to the opaque nature of Iran’s judiciary.

Rights groups say Tehran uses the death penalty not only as a punishment for violent crimes and drug offenses but also as a tool to silence dissent, target political opponents, and intimidate minority communities.

The recent spike in executions has raised concerns that Iranian authorities are using mass executions to consolidate control amid deepening domestic unrest and worsening economic conditions.