Death Penalty News

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. 

According to rights groups' claims, more than 500 people have been killed by the regime since the protests erupted in January. Ten individuals accused of participating in the January protests have been sentenced to death, while another six received prison sentences of up to 25 years, according to Iranian media reports on Sunday. The sentences were handed down by Judges Morteza Barati and Mohammadreza Tavakoli of Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, according to the Iran Human Rights Society, an independent advocacy group and information network.

Hossein Nazari, a 25-year-old citizen arrested during the January protests, has been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad. HRANA news agency reported on Wednesday, August 26, that the verdict was handed down in July and that Nazari is currently being held in Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison. The court charged him with “communicating with hostile states and groups” and “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security.”  No details have been provided regarding the specific evidence cited by the court, the underlying acts supporting these charges, Nazari’s access to independent legal representation, or the legal proceedings of his trial.

Two more protesters detained during Iran’s nationwide demonstrations in January have been sentenced to death, US-based rights group HRANA reported, amid a rise in executions and capital sentences following the unrest. Hossein Nazari, 25, was sentenced to death by Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, HRANA reported Wednesday. He is being held in the city’s Vakilabad Prison. HRANA said Nazari was convicted of “contact with hostile governments and groups” and “assembly and collusion to commit a crime against national security.” The sentence was issued in July.

Iranian authorities executed Omid Behzad, a Kurdish university student from Urmia, and Pouria Safvat, a Turkish prisoner, at Urmia Central Prison after the two were arrested during Iran’s 40-day war on charges of “spying for Israel (Mossad),” according to new information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Their bodies have not been returned to their families. The executions were carried out at dawn on August 3, 2026, at Urmia Central Prison . Omid Behzad’s execution was carried out despite the fact that Iran’s Supreme Court had overturned his death sentence on August 1, 2026.

Rights groups have warned that more teenagers arrested during Iran's January uprising face imminent execution, saying authorities have intensified the use of death sentences against minors as part of a broader execution campaign. In a joint statement on Saturday, the organizations Defenders of Children's Rights in Iran and the Center for Justice for Children said they were deeply concerned that authorities could soon execute 18-year-old Shervin Bagherian from Isfahan.

Iran secretly executes Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat on espionage charges Iranian authorities have secretly executed Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat, two prisoners who were arrested during the 40-day war and sentenced to death on charges of “spying for Israel (Mossad).” According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the executions were carried out secretly at dawn on August 3, 2026. Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency confirmed the executions but did not disclose where the sentences were carried out.

Iranian authorities executed 20-year-old protester Arvin Kheirkhah at Shahroud prison on Saturday morning, according to information obtained by Iran International, amid concerns that several other detainees could also face execution. Kheirkhah was arrested during the January protests and sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court on charges including moharebeh , or “waging war against God.” He was transferred to solitary confinement on Wednesday ahead of the execution. His family gathered outside Shahroud prison on Friday night in an attempt to stop the sentence from being carried out. According to information received by Iran International, Kheirkhah told his family in a final conversation: “Don’t let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland. Don’t let the path we chose be silenced.”

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 29 July 2026: Branch 23 of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court has sentenced 43-year-old Ali Esmaili to death on charges of intelligence cooperation with Israel in a case marred by due process violations. His wife and brother have also been sentenced to imprisonment and heavy fines in the same case. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Ali Esmaili to death on charges of “intelligence cooperation in favour of the hostile Zionist regime” which amounted to moharebeh (enmity against God) and esfsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth). In addition to the death penalty, the court sentenced Ali to three years of imprisonment for allegedly photographing military sites and ordered him to pay a fine equal to three times the value of a seized Starlink receiver.

At Least 17 Executed for Non-Lethal Drug-Related Offenses in 2026 (Beirut) – Saudi authorities executed five Ethiopian migrants for nonlethal drug-related offenses on July 27, 2026, without due process, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi authorities have executed at least 17 Ethiopian nationals since the beginning of 2026 on drug-related charges. At least 79 more remain at imminent risk of execution on similar charges. Saudi authorities have executed at least 116 people in 2026 as of July 27, according to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights.

Hengaw – Tuesday, July 28, 2026—Iranian authorities publicly executed Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani, 23, and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, 29, two men arrested during the January 2026 protests, early Tuesday in Alikhani Square in Isfahan. Their executions were carried out in connection with the so-called “Alikhani Square case.” The whereabouts and condition of a third defendant, Alireza Sepahi, remain unknown. According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the two men were executed at dawn on July 28, 2026, under heavy security measures in Alikhani Square, Isfahan.

An iron gallows has been erected in an Isfahan square where protests erupted in January. Families of several of the 10 remaining prisoners sentenced to death have been summoned for farewell visits. An iron gallows erected in Ali-Khani Square in the central Iranian city of Isfahan has raised fears that the regime is preparing to publicly execute protesters arrested during nationwide demonstrations in January. Sources who spoke with Iran International said large numbers of security forces had been deployed in the area, while the families of several prisoners sentenced to death had been summoned to the prison for farewell visits.

A Tehran court has sentenced protester Ahad Shokouhian to death three times over his involvement in January demonstrations, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported on Thursday. Shokouhian, 38, was arrested in Pakdasht on Jan. 15 and tried before Judge Iman Afshari in Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.

Iranian authorities have executed Iraj Ebrahimizadeh, a 37-year-old Kurdish prisoner from Ilam, at the city's Central Prison. He had previously been sentenced to death under the principle of qisas (retribution in kind) after being convicted of "premeditated murder." According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution was carried out during the early hours of Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Ebrahimizadeh had been transferred to solitary confinement one day earlier in preparation for the execution. Informed sources told Hengaw that Ebrahimizadeh was arrested on October 23, 2023, on charges of "premeditated murder" and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Ilam Province Criminal Court.

The two men had brought several injured protesters into a shop to provide them with medical treatment. Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 20 July 2026: Mojtaba Dehbandi and Kianush Hamzezadeh-Kazerouni have been sentenced to death by the Shiraz Revolutionary Court for providing medical help to injured protesters during the January nationwide protests. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Mojtaba Dehbandi, 23, and Kianush Hamzezadeh-Kazerouni, 27, were sentenced to death by Branch One of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) through the arson of public buildings and burning a Quran, and action against national security by harbouring protesters. Their preliminary sentence was issued over two months ago. Both men are Shiraz natives and detained in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 21 July 2026: More than 70 protesters arrested in connection with the January 2026 protests are facing execution at Isfahan Central Prison, with 26 held in pre-execution solitary confinement cells or isolation suites. Of the 31 individuals identified by IHRNGO, at least one was under 18 at the time of the alleged offence and three are Afghan nationals. Three other protesters are suspected to have been under 18 at the time of their alleged offences, which IHRNGO is working to verify.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 July 2026: State media reported the execution of protesters Erfan Esfandiari and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, an Afghan national, in connection to the 8 January protests in Isfahan.  Their executions bring the total number of protesters executed in connection with the January 2026 protests to at least 23. Another January protester, Mohammad Amini Dehaghani, was hanged in Isfahan Central Prison six days ago.  

Iranian authorities executed a Kurdish man convicted on drug-related charges at Tabriz Central Prison. His execution comes one month after the death of his wife, leaving their 12-year-old child without either parent. According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Salman Kakehkhani, a Kurdish prisoner from Baneh, was executed at dawn on July 14, 2026, at Tabriz Central Prison. Sources familiar with the case said Kakehkhani was arrested in 2023 by law enforcement authorities on charges related to the transportation and possession of narcotics. He was later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz.

Twelve protesters in Isfahan face imminent execution after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld death sentences in a case built around the alleged killing of four Basij members, a lawyer familiar with the case told Iran International. The case stems from protests on January 8 at Alikhani Square in Isfahan, where authorities said four Basij members were killed. According to the lawyer, 59 people were initially arrested after the incident. The lawyer said 23 of those detained were sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison, even though they were not accused of directly taking part in the deaths and appeared to have been added to the case to strengthen the prosecution’s broader narrative.

While the Iranian regime organizes pharaonic funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Khamenei, the reality on the ground tells a very different story: a nation brought to its knees, crushed by a collapsing economy and relentless repression. A Mourning Imposed as Propaganda The celebrations taking place across Iran for days—from Tehran to Qom and as far as Najaf and Karbala—represent a cruel paradox. In one of the darkest chapters of Iranian history, marked by galloping inflation, widespread poverty, and the still-open wounds of the recent conflict—which left behind damaged cities, an unstable power grid, paralyzed trade routes, broken supply chains, and a productive system strangled by the effects of war—the regime has chosen to allocate colossal budgets for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28th. As Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has pointed out, the question haunting the people is not where the former Supreme Leader will be laid to rest but the exorb...