Iran | 67 Political Prisoners at Risk of Execution; At Least 110 Executed Last Month

According to human rights sources, the Iranian regime executed at least 110 individuals in prisons across the country last month (July 2025). Alongside this wave of executions, the issuance or confirmation of death sentences for political prisoners has intensified, and at least 67 individuals charged with political offenses are currently at risk of execution.

On Tuesday, July 27, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that at least 110 individuals were executed in July 2025. Among those executed were nine Baluch citizens, seven Afghan nationals, four Kurdish citizens, three Arab citizens, and one woman.

According to the report, this figure represents more than double the number of executions in July 2024, when 48 people were executed.

During this period, three executions were carried out in public, with children present at the scenes, witnessing the hangings.

Out of the total executions, 59 individuals—making up 54%—were executed on drug-related charges, and 44 people—accounting for 40%—were executed for alleged murder.

At Least 716 Executions in Seven Months

The Iran Human Rights Organization stated that in the first seven months of 2025, it has recorded at least 716 executions. However, official institutions and domestic media inside Iran have only publicly acknowledged 55 of these cases.

Among those executed were 347 individuals on drug-related charges, 310 for alleged murder, 35 for charges such as “enmity against God,” armed rebellion, and “corruption on earth,” and 24 for alleged rape, in various prisons across Iran.

Among those executed during the first seven months of 2025 were 18 women, 47 Afghan nationals, one Iraqi national, one person referred to by Iranian media as a “foreign national,” and five public executions.

Among those executed for political and security-related charges, eight individuals had been accused of “espionage for Israel,” and two political prisoners were sentenced to death for membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

67 Political Prisoners at Risk of Execution

In another section of its report, the Iran Human Rights Organization stated that it has compiled the names and case details of 67 prisoners currently at risk of having their death sentences confirmed or carried out.

According to the report, among the 67 prisoners at risk of execution, there are three women, 13 Baluch citizens, 12 Kurdish citizens, 11 Arab citizens, one dual-national prisoner, and one Kurdish citizen of Turkey — highlighting the notable presence of ethnic minorities on this list.

Of these individuals, the death sentences of 22 have already been confirmed by the Supreme Court, placing them at the highest risk. Thirty-nine sentences have been issued and are awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision, while six cases have been referred back to parallel courts.

Among the 67 individuals on this list, 58 death sentences were issued by the Revolutionary Court, 10 by the Criminal Court, and one person was sentenced to death in both courts.

Charges Against Political Prisoners Sentenced to Death

The most frequently used charge leading to death sentences is baghi (armed rebellion), which appears in 54% of the cases.

According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, baghi, defined as armed rebellion against the Islamic government, was formally introduced into Iran’s penal code in 2013. In recent years, it has been used in many politically motivated death sentences.

In the one-year period from August 1, 2024, to August 1, 2025, at least 32 protesters and political or ideological prisoners received death sentences for the first time.

These 32 individuals include 15 protesters and 17 political prisoners. Of the 17 political prisoners sentenced to death in the past year, 13 were accused of ties to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

On July 27, the Iranian regime executed two prisoners—Behrouz Ehsani, age 69, and Mehdi Hassani, age 48—on charges of membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran is the country’s largest opposition group. Since the inception of Iran’s regime, members of this organization have faced the highest number of executions.

The sharp increase in executions last month and the positioning of dozens of political prisoners on death row serve not only as a serious warning about escalating repression in Iran, but also as a sign of the regime’s systematic use of the death penalty as a tool of political revenge and societal intimidation.

While the Iranian regime’s judicial system issues these verdicts under conditions of secrecy and lack of transparency, human rights organizations have once again stressed the urgent need to halt the current wave of executions, cancel death sentences against political prisoners, and conduct a thorough overhaul of death-penalty-based criminal laws.

Source: Iran Focus, Esmail Mohades, August 6, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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