Iran has carried out its highest number of executions in more than three decades as it killed at least 1,000 people over the past nine months. The “mass killing campaign” of hangings was carried out between January and September, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation (IHR). The figure already surpasses 975 killings in 2024 and is the highest since the group’s records began 17 years ago. The activists said at least 64 executions happened just last week – averaging more than nine hangings a day. Due to the lack of transparency and restrictions on reporting, the number is believed to be higher.
IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “In recent months the Islamic Republic has begun a mass killing campaign in Iran’s prisons, the dimensions of which, in the absence of serious international reactions, are expanding every day. The widespread, arbitrary executions of prisoners without due process and fair trial rights amount to crimes against humanity and must be placed at the top of the international community’s agenda regarding the Islamic Republic. Any dialogue between countries committed to the foundations of human rights and the Islamic Republic that does not include the execution crisis in Iran is unacceptable.”
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran previously conducted extensive executions in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, IHR claims the country has intensified the use of the punishment since its 12-day war with Israel.
“We will definitely deal decisively and legally with spies, but it should be noted that identifying them is not easy and requires intelligence techniques,” Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i said hours after the execution of a man who was accused of spying for Israel. He added that several people have been arrested and punished after trial for collaborating with what he called “the Zionist regime”.
Most of the executions carried out for drug-related offences. These do not meet the threshold for “most serious crimes” under international human rights law, which include genocide or crimes against humanity. Mostly, they are carried out in prison by hanging but some public hangings still occur. In 2024, four people were hanged in public spaces.
Of the 1000 executions, only 11% were announced by official sources. None of the drug-related executions have been officially announced, according to IHR.
According to Amnesty International and other human rights organisations, Iran ranks as the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China.
