Iran executed at least 160 people in past month, rights group says

At least 160 people were executed in Iran over the past month, according to a report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which warned that the pace of executions in the country is accelerating.

HRANA said the executions took place during the Iranian month of Mordad (July 23 to Aug. 22), averaging one every five hours.

It also documented 16 new death sentences and four confirmations of capital punishment, including that of jailed labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi. Three executions were carried out in public.

The group described the surge as a grave violation of the right to life, saying executions “create a sense of insecurity and instability in society and fuel a culture of violence.” It also reported dozens of prisoners facing solitary confinement, denial of medical care, and restrictions on communication during the same period.

According to HRANA, executions over the past month rose by 54 compared with the same period last year, when 106 people were hanged.

So far this year, it said, at least 818 people, including 21 women, have been executed in Iran.

Iran is one of the few countries that continues public hangings. Earlier this month, a man convicted of murdering a mother and her three children was hanged in public in Fars province, according to the judiciary.

Rights groups including Amnesty International have raised alarm over an uptick in executions since June’s 12-day war with Israel, warning that authorities have pushed for expedited trials and punishments.

At least 975 people were executed in Iran in 2024, a 17% increase from the previous year, making it one of the world’s leading users of the death penalty, according to rights monitors.

Source: HRANA, Staff, August 23, 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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