Death Penalty News

Iran has turned executions and opaque security trials into one of its harshest tools for suppressing dissent and maintaining control. The Iranian regime has used its conflict with Israel and the United States, regional tensions, and recurring political crises as tools to intensify repression at home. The sharp rise in executions in recent years stands out as the starkest expression of this policy. Reports published by international human rights organizations show that Iran remains one of the world’s leading executioners.

For Iran’s Kurdish population, the death penalty is not only a criminal-justice issue. It is part of a larger architecture of state control, political intimidation, and national-security repression that has followed the Kurdish question since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Kurdish activists, religious prisoners, protesters, and ordinary prisoners are pulled into a judicial system where the state often controls the accusation, the interrogation, the confession, the court narrative, and, finally, the rope.

The fiancée of an Egyptian man who is facing trial over converting to Christianity has issued an urgent appeal for journalists to “break the silence” over what she describes as “state-sanctioned religious persecution”. Thirty-year-old Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek is due to stand trial at Egypt’s Terrorism Circuit Court on 15th June and faces a potential life imprisonment or death sentence. He is officially recorded as an international religious prisoner of conscience by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences of Alireza Mordasi, an imprisoned teacher held in Ahvaz’s Sheiban Prison. He was arrested on or around August 1, 2023, in Ahvaz by security forces. He was transferred to Sheiban Prison (also spelled Sheyban) in Ahvaz, where he remains.  Mordasi was arrested alongside others as part of a larger case. State media claimed the group had links to the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK, an exiled opposition group) and planned "disruptive operations" or "terrorist" activities in provinces including Khuzestan. 

Hassan Amiri and Hossein Amiri, 20-year-old twin brothers and co-defendants in the same case, have been sentenced to death by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, on charges of “collaboration with Israel.” The brothers, who were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during detention, are currently being held in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj and face the imminent risk of execution.

Iranian authorities have secretly executed Fathollah Avary, a prisoner arrested during the January 2026 protests, in Hamedan Central Prison. According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Avary was executed at dawn on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Hamedan Central Prison. The execution was carried out without prior notification to his family, who were also denied a final visit. The Iranian judiciary had sentenced Avary to death on charges of moharebeh (“waging war against God”), accusing him of killing a member of the security forces identified as Mohammad Javad Bakhshian during protests in Hamedan on January 8, 2026.

The Islamic regime has used “wartime conditions” as a cover to intensify repression against the Iranian people, according to information reviewed by Amnesty International published earlier this week. In text messages reviewed by Amnesty, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was seen issuing direct warnings that those attempting to break through the regime’s internet restrictions could be prosecuted under the Espionage Act, the punishment for which is often the death penalty. These threats were issued under the framing that ordinary online activity was a threat to national security.

In a message addressed to Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of the Judiciary, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote: "Under the bombardment and threats of the enemies, the Judiciary did not back down from protecting the rights of the people and confronting domestic murderers and traitors to the nation, and it shone brilliantly." This praise for the Judiciary's performance comes at a time when at least 39 political prisoners have been executed over the course of the days since Iran's war with the United States and Israel began.

Iran Human RIghts (IHRNGO); 26 May 2026: State media reported the execution of Gholamreza Khani Shekarab, a man accused of intelligence cooperation and espionage for Israel. IHRNGO has established the location of his execution as Ghezel Hesar Prison.  Thus far in 2026, at least ten people have been hanged for alleged espionage and collaboration with Israel, while two others have been executed for spying on behalf of an unidentified Arab country.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 21 May 2026: Gholamreza Khani Shekarab, a man on death row for accusations of espionage for Israel, is at risk of execution after being transferred to the solitary confinement cells of Ghezel Hesar Prison from Evin Prison. According to information obtained by IHRNGO, Gholamreza Khani Shekarab was transferred from Evin Prison to the solitary confinement cells of Ghezel Hesar Prison on 7 May 2026.  Given that prisoners are typically transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison for execution, the transfer has raised grave concerns that his execution may be imminent.

An Iranian political prisoner sentenced to death on charges of “espionage and collaboration with a hostile state (Israel)” is at imminent risk of execution after being transferred to solitary confinement, the Norway-based rights group Hengaw said on Wednesday. Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, 34, a former MMA champion, coach and international referee, was moved from a high-security ward in Tehran’s Evin Prison to solitary confinement in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Hengaw said. The case comes amid a widening wartime crackdown in Iran, where authorities have intensified arrests, executions and threats against dissent while repeatedly warning that criticism could aid the country’s enemies.

Iranian authorities secretly executed two Iraqi nationals, Ali Nader al-Obeidi and Fazel Sheikh Karim, in Karaj Central Prison during the final days of the 40-day war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. The two men had previously been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of allegedly spying for one of the Arab countries in the region. According to a report received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the executions were carried out in the early hours of Monday, April 6, 2026. The two men, both Arab residents of the Iraqi city of Amarah, were identified as 27-year-old Ali Nader al-Obeidi and 29-year-old Fazel Sheikh Karim.

Iranian authorities have secretly executed two Kurdish political prisoners, Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, both from Naqadeh, who had previously been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the death sentences of Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour were carried out in secret at dawn on Wednesday, May 21, 2026, in Naqadeh Central Prison, without prior notice to their families or the opportunity for a final visit.

Hengaw – Tuesday, May 19, 2026—Iranian authorities executed a prisoner from Shiraz identified as Saeid Rahmanirad, who had previously been sentenced to death on charges of premeditated murder by the Iranian judiciary, at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution was carried out at dawn on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at Shiraz Central Prison, commonly known as Adelabad Prison. Rahmanirad, 30, had been convicted of “premeditated murder” by the Iranian judiciary.

The line is crackly. But the voice of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh is clear and, given the circumstances, surprisingly steady. He's on death row in western Iran. He speaks quickly - as if time is running out. And his message is desperate. "You are hearing my voice from Oromiyeh Central Prison, and this may be the last time you hear it," he says in a voice note obtained by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

A division bench of the Lahore High Court at Rawalpindi dismissed the appeal and upheld the death sentence of Rizwan Habib, who was convicted of the brutal murder of his former wife, US citizen Wajiha Swati, in a case involving a property dispute over assets worth around Rs1 billion that took place in Rawalpindi. The High Court remarked that the convict perpetrated a vile crime, thus justifying the death sentence. The division bench of the Lahore High Court included Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Tanveer Sheikh.

Hengaw – Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Iranian authorities have secretly executed Baloch political prisoner Abduljalil Shahbakhsh at Zahedan Central Prison just 55 days after his arrest during the 40-day war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. Shahbakhsh, from Taftan County in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, had been accused of “baghi” (armed rebellion) through alleged membership in Ansar al-Furqan, as well as espionage for Israel. Detailed information regarding his case remains limited. According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Shahbakhsh was executed at dawn on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, without prior notice to his family. Legal examination of the case indicates that the judicial process leading to his execution was carried out in complete opacity and accompanied by serious violations of fair trial standards, including denial of access to an independent lawyer throughout both interrogation and court proceedings.

Narges Mohammadi’s prison memoir recounts alleged torture, isolation and denial of medical care inside Iran’s Evin, Qarchak and Zanjan prisons. Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has detailed years of beatings, solitary confinement and alleged medical neglect in Iranian prisons in a memoir smuggled out of jail, according to a report by The Guardian. The memoir, ‘ A Woman Never Stops Fighting ’ recounts her experiences inside Iran’s Evin, Qarchak and Zanjan prisons, where she says, authorities repeatedly denied her medical treatment despite severe health complications, including pulmonary embolism, seizures and heart problems.

Iranian authorities have secretly executed Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old political prisoner, satellite technology researcher, and top-ranked aerospace engineering graduate student at Iran University of Science and Technology, at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj following nearly two years of detention on espionage-related charges. According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution was carried out in secret at dawn on Monday, May 11, 2026, at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 4 May 2026: Jamal Hassanzadeh, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Rasht Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 29 April 2026. His identity has been established as Jamal Hassanzadeh, a 37-year-old father of one. Informed sources told IHRNGO that he been arrested four years ago on murder charges following an unintentional altercation and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.