Death Penalty News

Hengaw – Friday, October 9, 2026 | Iranian courts have sentenced at least 106 people arrested during the January 2026 protests to death, 35 of whom have already been executed. Another 63 remain at serious and imminent risk of execution, while the death sentences of eight others have been overturned, according to findings documented and verified by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Hengaw is releasing these findings in a special report marking World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10. Drawing on evidence collected and verified by its Statistics and Documentation Center through October 9, 2026, the report details the death sentences imposed on protest detainees, the executions carried out, and the judicial proceedings and current status of their cases.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his second death warrant within a week, putting the state in position to exceed its modern-era record for executions in a single year set in 2025. DeSantis on Monday signed a warrant for Jesse Guardado, 64, to be executed Nov. 5 at Florida State Prison for the murder of a Walton County woman in 2004. With three other executions planned over the next two weeks, Guardado would become the 20th execution conducted by the state this year. The 19 executions carried out by the state in 2025 were the most for a single year in Florida since capital punishment was revived after a four-year hiatus in 1976 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 5 September 2026: At least 82 people were executed in August 2026, including 40 for murder, 34 for drug-related offences and eight for security-related charges. Amongst those executed were six women, marking the highest monthly total recorded for female executions in 2026. Three protesters arrested in connection with the January nationwide protests were also amongst those executed. In the first eight months of 2026, IHRNGO has recorded 528 executions, including 18 women, 20 foreign nationals and 91 ethnic minorities. The 2026 executions also include 31 protesters (29 from the January protests and two from “Woman, Life, Freedom”), 13 political prisoners affiliated with banned opposition groups and 14 espionage defendants.

In August 2026, the human rights situation in Iran witnessed a catastrophic deterioration. According to data compiled by Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), a total of 92 executions were documented during this month, reflecting an alarming surge in the clerical regime’s use of the death penalty to stifle dissent. Of these 92 executions, 85 were carried out secretly without any official announcement by the judiciary or state media, while only seven executions, including that of one woman, were officially acknowledged. 

The Iranian regime is increasingly using death sentences, corporal punishment, and judicial persecution against women—not only to silence dissent but also to intimidate a society demanding change. The Iranian regime has long viewed women as central to the country’s struggle for freedom—and therefore as central targets of repression. The nationwide uprising of 2022 fundamentally altered the political landscape, demonstrating that Iranian women were no longer merely participants in protest movements but among their principal organizers and symbols. Since then, the authorities have steadily intensified their campaign against women, expanding the use of executions, imprisonment, corporal punishment, and judicial intimidation.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 6 August 2026: At least 71 people were executed in July 2026, including 36 for murder, 26 for drug-related offences, eight for security-related charges, and one for rape. Six protesters were amongst those executed in July.  In the first seven months of 2026, IHRNGO has recorded 444 executions, including 12 women, 17 foreign nationals, and 80 ethnic minorities. The 2026 executions also include 28 protesters (26 from the January protests and two from “Woman, Life, Freedom”), 13 political prisoners affiliated with banned opposition groups, and 12 espionage defendants.

Iranian authorities executed at least 67 prisoners, including nine political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, during July 2026. Compared with the same period last year, the number of executions fell by at least 29, representing a 30 percent decrease. Hengaw documented at least 96 executions in Iranian prisons during July 2025. The Statistics and Documents Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has verified the identities of all 67 prisoners executed in Iranian prisons during the month. Among those executed were two women. Setayesh Mohammadipour, from Jahrom, was executed in Shiraz Prison on drug-related charges, while Azam Gerami, from Yasuj, was executed in Yasuj Prison after being convicted of “premeditated murder.”

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 2 March 2026: Three days into the war by the United States and Israel against Iran, prisoners are being subjected to additional restrictions while concerns have intensified regarding the risk of harm to prisoners as a result of military strikes or possible retaliatory actions by the authorities. In particular, the families of a number of detainees have expressed serious concern about the safety of their loved ones. In addition, tens of thousands of protesters arrested in connection with the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests are being held in facilities run by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), some of which have reportedly been amongst the targets of recent military attacks, further increasing concerns regarding their safety.