The Islamic Republic’s Execution Machine: Repression in Response to Crises H. Soleimani ۱۴۰۴/۰۵/۱۲ An account of executions and other forms of repression in Iran from 1357 to 1403, presenting figures by period and offence and examining the targeting of political prisoners, minorities, women, young people and protesters. H. Soleimani – 46 years of executions, imprisonment and repression; why does the Islamic Republic rely on the gallows and the baton instead of resolving crises? The Islamic Republic of Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world and, over the past four decades, has executed or otherwise killed thousands of people for various reasons. According to human rights documentation, from 1357 to 1399 in the Solar Hijri calendar, more than 44,600 people were killed in Iran by the Islamic Republic. This figure includes judicial executions, the assassination of opponents, the killing of protesters in the streets, and deaths resulting from torture in prisons. In recent years alone, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been responsible for a large share of recorded executions worldwide. For example, at least 975 executions were carried out in Iran in 2024, accounting for 64% of all recorded executions worldwide. The overall trend shows that the government has increasingly used the death penalty to repress opponents and even for ordinary crimes, while the number of executions and other severe sentences has risen sharply during periods of political crisis. This report presents execution figures over past decades (1357–1403), broken down by period and type of offence. It also discusses the proportion of executions related to drug offences, political-security offences, ethnic and religious minorities, women and young people. In addition, it examines the numbers of political and ideological prisoners during periods of crisis (the 1360s, 1388, 1396, 1398 and the 1401 uprising), as well as examples of the violent repression of protesters and severe sentences such as lengthy imprisonment, exile and flogging. All the data and cases cited are documented in reports by official human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Iran, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Justice for Iran and reports of the UN Human Rights Council; the source for each figure is specified precisely. The overall trend in executions after the revolution (1357–1403) Following the 1357 revolution, a widespread wave of executions began, targeting mainly officials of the Pahlavi regime and later political and ideological opponents. In the early years of the Islamic Republic’s establishment, the Revolutionary Courts, presided over by Sadegh Khalkhali, issued a large number of death sentences. The table below gives documented figures for some key periods and years, from the beginning of the revolution to recent years: Period/year (Solar Hijri) Number of recorded executions Bahman 1357 – Esfand 1358 (1979–1980) 438 people Year 1359 (1980) 624 people 1360–1364 (1981–1985) 14,794 people Years 1365–1366 (1986–1987) Approximately 1,456 to 1,671 people Summer 1367 – the 1367 massacre (1988) 4,484 people (estimated) 1367–1377 (1988–1998) 6,783 people Chain murders of the 1370s (1988–1998) More than 80 writers and activists were assassinated 1378–1387 (1999–2008) 5,220 people Tir 1378 protests – University Dormitory 7 killed in the suppression of student protests Khordad 1388 – Tir 1389 (2009–2010) 152 political executions following the disputed 1388 election Years 1391–1392 (2012–2013) 814 executions (the first year of Rouhani’s government) Year 1393 (2014) 966 people (the highest figure in the previous 20 years) 2015 (1394): 1,471 people (the peak number of executions in the 2010s). 2016 (1395): 969 people. 2017 (1396): 446 people. 2018 (1397): 236 people. 2019 (1398): 248 people. 2020 (1399): 276 people. 2021 (1400): 254 people. 2022: approximately 560 people (Amnesty International estimate). 2023: 834 people (43% more than in 2022). 2024: an estimated 975 people by the end of the year. Note: The figures above are compiled from reports by Amnesty International, Iran Human Rights and other sources. As is evident, the 1360s in the Iranian calendar were the bloodiest decade; more than 20,000 people were executed between 1360 and 1367 alone. After the war ended and during the 1370s, the number of executions fell relatively, but hundreds of people continued to be executed every year, particularly for drug offences and murder. In the late 1380s and early 1390s (around 2009 to 2015), executions rose to a new peak as the crackdown on drug trafficking intensified, reaching nearly 1,500 in 2015. Following amendments to the anti-narcotics law in 1396, executions declined for a time, but the trend began to rise again from 1400 onwards. According to Amnesty International, Iran’s executions in 2023 reached their highest level since 2015, signalling a new wave of executions after Ebrahim Raisi came to power in 1400 and the practical repeal of the amendments to the drug law. The following sections examine this trend in detail and the offences for which those sentenced to death were convicted. Executions for drug-related offences A large proportion of executions in Iran over the past four decades have been for drug-related offences. For years, the Islamic Republic has used the death penalty as its principal tool in the fight against drug trafficking, and Iran has consistently recorded one of the world’s highest numbers of people executed for drug offences. For example, in 2015, around 69% of all executions in Iran were for drug-related offences. According to a report by Hrana, in 2015 around 21% of executions were for murder, 6% for rape, 1% for unspecified offences and 1% on charges of ‘moharebeh and corruption on earth’; but nearly three-quarters of those executed were drug traffickers or people connected with drugs. After the anti-narcotics law was amended in Dey 1396 (2018)—raising the threshold for imposing the death penalty for drug offences—the number of drug-related executions fell sharply and declined between 2018 and 2020. This trend did not last, however: from 1400 onwards, the new judicial authorities, including Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and Ebrahim Raisi’s government adopted a harsher policy and called for the reforms to be overturned in practice. The result has been a striking surge in drug-related executions in recent years. According to Amnesty International, at least 481 people—more than 56% of all those executed—were put to death for drug-related offences in 2023. This was an increase of 89% compared with 2022, when around 255 people were executed for drug offences. Compared with 2021, when 132 people were executed on drug charges, the increase was 264%. Many of those executed for drug offences come from poor and vulnerable sections of society and socially marginalised communities. In particular, the Baluch ethnic minority is disproportionately represented among those executed for drug offences: according to Amnesty International, 29% (138 people) of drug-related executions in 2023 involved members of the Baluch minority, even though Baluch people make up only around 5% of Iran’s population. The United Nations and human rights organisations have repeatedly objected to international bodies—including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)—co-operating with Iran in the face of these widespread executions, and have called for such co-operation to be made conditional on ending the execution of people convicted of drug offences. Political and ideological executions (a tool for suppressing opponents) Since its establishment, the Iranian government has systematically used the death penalty to suppress political opponents, ideological dissenters and protesters. The 1360s were the height of this bloody repression. In the early years after the Revolution, hundreds of people associated with the former regime were executed; this was followed by a wave of executions of members and supporters of opposition groups, including the People’s Mojahedin, left-wing groups and other political opponents. In 1360 (1981) alone, thousands of political prisoners were shot or hanged, and the number of documented executions between 1360 and 1364 stands at around 14,794. The repression reached its peak in the summer of 1367: after the Iran–Iraq War ended and Ayatollah Khomeini issued his order, thousands of political prisoners serving their sentences were secretly executed over several months and buried in mass graves. The precise number killed in the 1367 massacre was never officially disclosed, and the Islamic Republic’s officials denied for years that it had taken place. Estimates from various sources put the number executed in the summer of 1367 at between 3,000 and 4,482. The UN Special Rapporteur at the time (1988) recorded at least 1,879 names of people who had been executed. This organised mass killing is recognised as one of the government’s greatest crimes in modern Iranian history. The later disclosure of an audio recording of Ayatollah Montazeri revealed that he had objected to this ‘historic crime’ at the time, warning that it would lead to the regime’s condemnation by history. After the 1360s, executions of political opponents declined but never stopped. In the 1370s, a number of notorious targeted assassinations of dissidents—known as the Chain Murders—took place. In these, Ministry of Intelligence agents murdered at least 80 writers, poets, political activists and critics inside and outside the country. In subsequent years, the Islamic Republic’s security and judicial apparatus resorted to a wider range of methods to suppress opponents, including arbitrary arrests, long prison sentences, the house arrest of opposition leaders, and the psychological and physical torture of prisoners of conscience. Nevertheless, the death penalty continues to be used as the most extreme instrument of repression, to instil fear in society. In recent years, there have also been numerous cases of political activists, street protesters and prisoners of conscience being executed. For example, Navid Afkari, a wrestler who had protested, was executed in 1399 despite international protests; Ruhollah Zam, a journalist, was hanged in 1399 after being kidnapped from Iraq and subjected to an unfair trial; and during the 1401 protests, a number of protesters were swiftly sentenced to death and their sentences carried out, as will be discussed in later sections. United Nations reports have stressed that imposing death sentences on protesters and dissenters is a clear violation of Iran’s human rights obligations and amounts to ‘state-sanctioned killing’. Ethnic and religious minorities among those executed Ethnic and religious minorities in Iran account for a relatively high proportion of victims of both political and criminal executions. Baluch and Kurdish minorities have been among those most frequently executed in security-related cases. Many defendants charged with “moharebeh” (armed action against the government) or “corruption on earth” have come from ethnic minority communities. For example, in 2013 it was reported that most of those executed on charges of moharebeh were from the provinces of Baluchestan, Kurdistan and the Arab-populated regions. In 2023, as noted, 20% of all those executed were Baluch (167 out of 834), several times their proportion of the population. Sunni Muslims have also been disproportionately represented among those sentenced to death; the mass execution of 10 Sunni prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison (summer 1395) and the execution of three Sunni prisoners in Mashhad (Shahrivar 1399) attracted widespread attention. Among religious minorities, Bahá’ís have been targets of organised state repression. Since 1357, at least 202 followers of the Bahá’í faith in Iran have been executed or killed in custody. The Islamic Republic does not recognise the Bahá’í faith, and in past decades many leaders and members of the Bahá’í community were executed on charges such as espionage or apostasy. Other religious minorities, including converts to Christianity and Sufis, have also faced death sentences (for example, the case of Mohammad Ali Taheri, founder of the Erfan-e Halgheh movement, whose death sentence was ultimately overturned). Iran’s LGBTQ+ community also faces the death penalty; exact figures are unavailable, but human rights activists estimate that more than 4,000 people have been executed on charges related to homosexuality or sexual diversity during the Islamic Republic’s rule (although the government has mostly justified these executions under moral or rape-related charges). The execution of women and children Although most executions in Iran are of men, dozens of women have also been executed in recent years. Many of the women executed were convicted of crimes such as murder (often the killing of husbands or family members in the context of domestic violence) or drug-related offences. According to Iran Human Rights, at least 22 women were executed in Iran in 2023, the highest annual total in the past decade. By comparison, in previous years the usual number was between five and 10 women a year. Women’s rights organisations have warned that many women executed for murder were victims of gender-based violence and forced marriages who resorted to violence in the absence of legal protection. For this reason, the death sentences imposed in such cases have drawn sharp criticism from women’s rights advocates. Iran is also one of the few countries in the world that continues to execute people for crimes committed when they were under 18. Under international obligations (the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), the death penalty for people under 18 is absolutely prohibited. Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic has executed dozens of child offenders—people who were under 18 when they committed the crime—in recent years, joining a small number of countries such as Saudi Arabia in violating this universal principle. Iran officially claims that it does not execute people under 18, but in practice those sentenced have waited until they turn 18 before their sentences are carried out. Amnesty International has called Iran “the last executioner of children in the world” and reported that, since 1990, Iran has executed more child offenders than any other country. Recent examples include the execution of two child offenders in 2023, one of whom was still 17 when the sentence was carried out. These actions constitute a flagrant breach of Iran’s international obligations and have been widely condemned by the United Nations and child rights advocates. The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran has repeatedly expressed concern about the continued execution of young people in Iran and called for the practice to stop immediately. The repression of protesters and political prisoners at times of crisis When faced with popular protest uprisings, the Islamic Republic has consistently pursued a policy of severe repression. This has included killing protesters in the streets, mass arrests, torturing detainees and imposing heavy sentences—including death sentences—to instil fear and serve as a warning to the public. The following section looks at figures for arrests, deaths and harsh sentences at several critical moments: • The 1360s and the 1367 massacre: As mentioned earlier, the first decade after the Revolution saw the harshest repression of opponents. From 1360 to 1363, thousands of supporters of opposition groups were executed. During the war years, many members of ethnic minorities were also executed on the pretext of having links to armed opposition groups (for example, the mass executions in Kurdistan in the early 1360s). In the summer of 1367, in addition to around 4,500 people executed in prisons, many political prisoners who were not executed remained incarcerated for years or died under torture. The repression of the 1360s was so widespread that Ayatollah Montazeri wrote to Khomeini: “Crimes are being committed in the prisons of the Islamic Republic the like of which was never seen under the Shah’s regime… The greatest crime committed in the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, was carried out by you.” • The protests after the 1388 election: Following the disputed presidential election of Khordad 1388 and the mass protests, the government launched a sweeping crackdown. According to Amnesty International, during the 2009 unrest “thousands” were arbitrarily detained and “dozens” were killed in the streets or died in detention centres as a result of torture. On 25 and 30 Khordad 1388, security forces fired directly at peaceful protesters; Neda Agha-Soltan was among those killed. According to human rights organisations, by the end of summer 1388 hundreds of political activists, journalists and protesters were still in prison, and dozens had received harsh sentences in show trials. Green Movement leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi were also placed under indefinite house arrest without trial from Bahman 1389. Several executions were carried out in connection with the 1388 protests, including those of Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammadreza Ali-Zamani, who were executed in Dey 1388 on charges of “moharebeh”. They had been accused in Revolutionary Courts of links to opposition groups, and their executions were seen as a warning to other protesters. Other detainees from 1388 were sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. • The Dey 1396 uprising: In Dey 1396 (December 2017), a wave of protests over economic hardship and political issues swept through numerous cities. Around 3,700 people were arrested in protests across the country (according to figures announced by a member of parliament). At least 25 people were also killed during the street crackdown (the official figure), although unofficial sources reported that the death toll was as high as 50. Many of those arrested in Dey 96 were subjected to torture and pressure, and at least several people—including Sina Ghanbari and Vahid Heydari—died in suspicious circumstances in detention, reportedly as a result of torture. In the following years, the judiciary tried and sentenced a number of Dey protesters. One prominent example was Mostafa Salehi, a protester from Isfahan province, who was executed in Mordad 1399 after two years in prison. The execution of Mostafa Salehi—a jobless protester and father of two—attracted considerable attention and was met with international condemnation. • The Aban 1398 protests: The sudden increase in petrol prices in Aban 98 sparked one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the history of the Islamic Republic. During several days of protests in Aban 98, security and military forces fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters. According to Amnesty International, at least 304 people, including children, were killed. Reuters and some US officials estimated the death toll at around 1,500. At the same time, the government imposed a nationwide internet shutdown to prevent news of the killings from getting out. According to a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, around 7,000 people were arrested in connection with the Aban protests. A spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission also confirmed the approximate figure of 7,000 arrests. However, a synthesis of various sources suggests that the number of people arrested may have exceeded 8,600. Many detainees were held in prison for months and subjected to harsh interrogation; numerous reports of their enforced disappearance and severe torture were published. In the months and years after Aban 98, the judiciary sentenced hundreds of people to harsh punishments. For example, three protesters from Tehran (Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi) were initially sentenced to death; following public protests and international pressure, their sentences were temporarily suspended. In Khuzestan, too, the so-called ‘Mahshahr Trade Union House’ case resulted in several death sentences. By the end of 1402, a number of those arrested in Aban 98 were still in prison, and several executions linked to the 98 protests were reported as late as the end of 1402. Among them, Mojahid Korkor, one of the protesters from Izeh, was executed in Khordad 1404; he was accused of taking part in the 98 protests in Izeh. • The 1401 uprising (the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests): Following the tragic death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in the custody of the morality police (Shahrivar 1401), an unprecedented wave of nationwide protests took shape, centred on women’s rights and opposition to the government. The government’s response to this uprising was also extremely violent. By the winter of 1401, human rights sources had recorded the deaths of more than 500 people, including dozens of children, on the streets of Iran after security forces opened fire. In addition to those killed, more than 22,000 people were arrested in connection with the protests, according to the judiciary’s own officials—although the authorities later claimed that most had been released under a pardon from the Supreme Leader. In Esfand 1401, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, Javaid Rehman, stated that the crackdown on the Woman, Life, Freedom protests had been accompanied by mass arrests and a rising number of executions. Within a short period, the judiciary tried dozens of protesters in Revolutionary Courts and sentenced them to death or lengthy prison terms. In the first few months alone, the death sentences of at least five young protesters—Mohsen Shekari, Majidreza Rahnavard, Mohammadmehdi Karami, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini and Saleh Mirhashemi—were carried out. These hasty executions prompted a wave of international protests, but death sentences against protesters continued to be handed down in the following months. By the beginning of 2023 (Dey 1401), Amnesty International had reported at least 17 people at risk of execution in connection with the recent protests. Many other protesters were sentenced to long prison terms of five, ten or even fifteen years. For example, Toomaj Salehi, a protest rapper, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment; Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist who had already been in prison before the protests, was retried on charges of leading protests from inside prison and sentenced to a total of ten years in prison and 154 lashes; and hundreds of ordinary citizens who had protested received prison sentences accompanied by flogging. For instance, the judicial sentence against Yousef Zarif, a student arrested during the 1401 protests, included one year’s imprisonment and 74 lashes; Farnaz Hosseinzadeh was also sentenced to prison and flogging. Such flogging sentences for protesters are clear instances of inhuman treatment contrary to human rights standards and have prompted protests from human rights organisations. Long prison sentences, exile and flogging In addition to the death penalty, the Islamic Republic’s judiciary has used other severe punishments to suppress opponents and critics. Long prison terms—sometimes of more than ten or twenty years—have been imposed on political critics, journalists, artists and civil society activists, with the aim of silencing them and intimidating others. For example, the human rights lawyers Nasrin Sotoudeh and Abdolfattah Soltani were each sentenced to more than a decade in prison; Soheil Arabi, an online activist, was sentenced to seven years in prison and 74 lashes; and dozens of labour, teachers’ and student activists received lengthy prison sentences. Another punitive method is the internal exile of political prisoners after they have served their prison terms. Many sentences provide that, after serving, for example, five years in prison, a political prisoner must spend two or three years in exile in a remote town. Such exiles—to Zabol, Tabas, Kahnuj and elsewhere—effectively extend the punishment and separate the person from their family and home. For example, former student activist Arash Sadeghi was sentenced to exile in border towns after his imprisonment; teachers’ union activist Esmail Abdi received an exile sentence to follow his prison term; and there are many similar cases. Flogging also remains in Iran’s laws as a religious punishment and is imposed for certain offences, including moral offences, drinking alcohol, illicit relationships and even ‘disturbing public order’ during protests. Although public floggings are reported less often than in the early years of the revolution, several instances of flogging of civil society activists and protesters have been documented in recent years. For example, environmental activist Arman Shadiwand was sentenced to 30 lashes of discretionary punishment in Esfand 1403, and the sentence was carried out in Tir 1404. It has also been reported that, in Evin Prison, political prisoner Reza Rezaei was severely beaten under the pretext of carrying out a sentence of 80 lashes as a hadd punishment. Human rights organisations have condemned these acts, describing them as torture and violations of human dignity. Even the UN Human Rights Council, in its resolutions, has called on Iran to abolish corporal punishments such as flogging, as they are contrary to its international obligations, including the Convention against Torture. Conclusion The Islamic Republic of Iran’s 46-year record of executions and repression of dissent is among the darkest human rights records in the contemporary world. The figures presented in this report show that tens of thousands of people have been executed or killed in government crackdowns in Iran since 1357. The Islamic Republic has consistently used execution as a political tool to instil fear in society, and has relied heavily on the death penalty even in cases involving ordinary crimes. International human rights organisations—from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to UN Special Rapporteurs—have repeatedly protested against and condemned the alarming rise in executions in Iran. In his 2024 report, Javid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur, stressed that the rising trend in executions (834 cases in 2023) and the severe repression of protesters in Iran continue, and that the international community must act to stop this cycle of violence. In the face of this pressure, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have so far made no fundamental change to their policies and, at some points, have even placed greater emphasis on using the death penalty. Nevertheless, growing public awareness and the documentation of human rights violations by civil society organisations have brought hidden aspects of repression—such as the secret killing of prisoners in the 1360s or the torture of protesters in detention—to light and mobilised global public opinion against these acts. Human rights organisations inside and outside Iran—including the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and Justice for Iran—have played an important role in telling the truth by collecting evidence and publishing lists of victims. For example, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (iranrights.org), through its “Execution Database” project, has recorded and published thousands of executions and killings in detail. Ultimately, the continuation of the current situation not only claims the lives of hundreds of people every year, but also imposes an atmosphere of fear and injustice on Iranian society. This report has sought to present a comprehensive picture of the scale of these widespread human rights violations by providing figures and documentation. As human rights activists stress, only sustained international pressure and holding those responsible to account can slow the Islamic Republic’s “execution machine” and save more lives. The international community and all those with a conscience must not remain silent in the face of these horrific figures, because every unjust execution is not only the taking of a human life, but also an irreparable blow to human dignity and the human rights of us all. The Islamic Republic is a crisis-generating regime, not one that resolves crises. Structurally, it lacks the capacity to engage in dialogue with the people; its only language is that of threat and punishment. When legitimacy, effectiveness and accountability are absent, the noose, the lash and the checkpoint replace the ballot box, dialogue and reform. In such a regime, execution is not merely the end of a life; it is the end of hope and of the voice demanding justice. . The solution: What should the international community do? Organisations and governments that should take action: • The United Nations ° Establish a special committee to examine “gross human rights violations” in Iran ° Create an independent investigative mechanism for cases of execution and torture (such as those relating to Aban and 1401) ° Pressure Iran to join the “Optional Protocol on the Abolition of the Death Penalty” • The European Union and Western governments ♦ Impose targeted sanctions on officials responsible in the judiciary, the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence ♦ Make any negotiations or political relations conditional on ending executions • International human rights organisations (such as Amnesty, HRW and UNHRC) ♦ Formally register the names of those executed, apply media pressure and prepare international criminal cases ♦ Work alongside Iranian organisations such as “Justice for Iran” and the “Iran Human Rights Documentation Center” • Civil society, the media and Iranian expatriates ♦ Repeating the voices that have been silenced ♦ Documenting accounts and conveying them to the world’s public ♦ Strengthening anti-execution campaigns, such as ‘No to Execution’ Sources and references: – Amnesty International reports and statements on Iran (1979–2023) – Annual reports by Iran Human Rights on the death penalty (2021–2024) – Human Rights Watch statements and reports on waves of executions and the suppression of protests in Iran – Successive reports by the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on human rights in Iran (Ahmed Shaheed, Asma Jahangir, Javaid Rehman) – Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (database of executions and extrajudicial killings) – Justice for Iran (investigative reports on executions in the 1360s and gender-based violence) – United Nations Human Rights Council resolutions and reports, and statements by the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemning executions in Iran – International news sources (such as Reuters, The Guardian and the BBC) and human rights media (HRANA, IranWire and Radio Farda) for supplementary figures on arrests and victims of protests. All the figures and cases mentioned have been carefully drawn from and cross-checked against these sources to provide a documented and reliable picture of executions and repression in Iran over the past four and a half decades. Source: https://srouzbeh.com/en/posts/archive-ae263556-fbb9-46c4-78ba-c632c49cbc6e Please credit the author and link to this edition.