Record number of executions reported
Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024, marking a significant increase in the use of capital punishment, according to a joint report released by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the French organization Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The report described the surge as a “horrifying escalation,” with the 2024 figure being the highest recorded since IHR began documenting executions in 2008.
The organizations accused Iran of using the death penalty as a “central tool of political oppression” to maintain control over its population. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHR, stated, “These executions are part of the Islamic Republic’s war against its own people to maintain its grip on power.”
Increase in public executions and execution of women
The report highlighted that four individuals were hanged in public, while 31 of those executed were women—the highest number in the past 17 years. Overall, executions in 2024 rose by 17 percent compared to the 834 executions recorded in 2023.
Human rights groups claim Iran is the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China. They argue that the Iranian authorities use the death penalty to instill fear, particularly in the wake of nationwide protests that erupted in 2022.
Capital punishment remains a fundamental aspect of Iran’s sharia-based judicial system, which was established after the 1979 revolution. While crimes such as murder, rape, and drug offenses are punishable by death, authorities have also used vaguely defined charges like “corruption on earth” and “rebellion” against political dissidents.
Executions over protests
Two of the executions in 2024 were linked to the protests that erupted in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in police custody after being arrested for an alleged violation of Iran’s mandatory dress code.
One of the executed individuals, 23-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlu, was charged with killing a police officer by running him over with a car during an October 2022 protest. Human rights groups criticized the trial as deeply flawed, alleging that judges ignored evidence indicating that Ghobadlu had bipolar disorder.
Another man, 34-year-old Gholamreza Rasaei, was executed in secret in August on charges of killing a Revolutionary Guard member during a protest. Activists claim his confession was obtained through torture.
Concerns over unreported executions
The report suggested that the actual number of executions in 2024 may be even higher, as there were reports of an additional 39 executions that the groups could not independently verify.
So far in 2025, Iran has already carried out at least 121 executions, according to IHR’s records.
International condemnation
The French foreign ministry condemned Iran’s continued use of capital punishment, calling it a symbol of “relentless repression visited upon all those who dare to express the legitimate aspirations for freedom of the Iranian people.” France has urged Iran to cease all executions immediately.