At least 101 Executions in June; More Than 370 Executions in First Six Months of 2026
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 6 July 2026: The Islamic Republic’s use of the death penalty, which steadily intensified after a wave of political prisoner executions starting on 18 March, accelerated further following the ceasefire in early April, culminating in at least 101 executions in June alone. This brings the total number of executions in the first half of the year to at least 370, including nine women, 11 Afghan nationals, two Iraqi nationals, 33 Baluchis, 25 Kurds and nine Arabs.
IHRNGO warns of a further escalation in executions in the coming months and calls on the international community to place the human rights situation in Iran, particularly the ongoing wave of executions, at the top of the agenda in any dialogue with the Islamic Republic authorities.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the organisation stated: “Any agreement with the Islamic Republic by states committed to human rights principles must make a moratorium on the death penalty a central condition. The EU and its partners can and must play an important role in stopping executions in Iran.”
According to data verified by IHRNGO, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed at least 101 people in June, bringing the total number of executions recorded in the first six months of 2026 to at least 370. IHRNGO has also received reports of more than 400 additional executions that have not been verified and are therefore not included in these statistics. The organisation only includes execution cases that include sufficient documentation, or are confirmed by two independent sources.
January to June 2026 Executions at a Glance:
- At least 370 people were executed
- Only 53 or 14% of the recorded executions were announced by official sources. The remaining 317 executions were verified through two independent sources by IHRNGO
- 188 of those executed were sentenced to qisas for murder
- 117 were on death row for drug-related offences
- 55 people were executed on national security charges. Of those, 18 were protesters, 13 were political prisoners affiliated with banned opposition groups, 12 were accused of espionage and/or collaboration with foreign states, 7 were convicted of armed robbery, two were accused of affiliation with ISIS, and three of the cases are unknown
- 9 people were executed for rape charges
- The charges against one person is unknown
- 9 of those executed were women (5 for murder charges and 4 for drug-related offences)
- 11 Afghans, 2 Iraqis, 33 Baluchis, 25 Kurds and 9 Arabs were amongst those executed
Execution of political prisoners and espionage defendants in the shadow of war
Less than three weeks after the outbreak of war on 28 February, the Islamic Republic launched a wave of political prisoner executions unprecedented in the past 30 years. Between 18 March and 16 June, Islamic Republic authorities announced the executions of 21 protesters (20 in relation to the January 2026 protests and one in relation to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests), 13 political prisoners affiliated with banned opposition groups and 10 individuals accused of espionage (8 accused of espionage or collaboration with Israel and/or the United States and two with an unknown Arab country).
The protesters executed in connection to the January 2026 nationwide protests: Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi, Mehdi Ghasemi, Amirhossein Hatami, Mohammad Amin Biglari, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Ali Fahim, Amir Ali Mir Jafari, Erfan Kiani, Sasan Azadvar, Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad, Mehdi Rasouli, Mohammadreza Miri, Mohammad Abbasi, Abbas Akbari Feizabadi, Ashkan Maleki, Mehrdad Mohammadinia, Fathollah Avari, Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi.
Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a Kurdish “Woman, Life, Freedom” protester was also executed during this period.
The executed political prisoners affiliated with banned opposition groups: Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Pouya Ghobadi, Babak Alipour, Vahid Baniamerian, Abolhassan Montazer, Nima (Mohammad Masoum) Shahi, Hamed Validi, Soltan Ali Shirzadi Fakhr, Amer Ramesh, Abdoljalil Shahbakhsh, Ramin Zleh and Karim Maroufpour.
The individuals executed for espionage and collaboration charges: Kourosh Keyvani, Mehdi Farid, Yaghoub Karimpour, Naser Bakerzadeh, Efan Shakourzadeh, Ehsan Afrashteh, Ali Nader Al-Obeidi, Fazel Sheikh Karim, Mojtaba Kian and Gholamreza Khani Shekarab.