Iran Executes at Least 74 in February; Eightfold Increase from 2024
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); March 5, 2025: The alarming rise in executions in Iran, which claimed at least 975 lives in 2024, has continued into the first two months of 2025. In February 74 people were executed in prisons across the country, including a woman, 4 Afghan nationals, 7 Kurdish citizens, and 6 Baluch minorities. Only 8% of the executions were reported by state media, the remainder were documented and verified by the Iran Human Rights.
Expressing grave concern over the escalating use of the death penalty, Iran Human Rights urges the international community and Iranian citizens—both inside and outside the country—to raise their voices and pressure Iranian authorities to halt these executions.
February 2025 Executions at a Glance:
- 74 executions were recorded in February 2025
- Only 6 of the executions (8%) were reported by official sources
- 33 people were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder
- 32 of those executed were on death row for drug-related offences
- 3 people were executed on charges of moharebeh (enmity against god) through armed robbery
- 1 woman was executed
- 7 Kurdish and 6 Baluch minorities were amongst those executed
- 4 Afghan nationals were executed
- 1 man was hanged on a public bridge in Esfarayen
Executions in February were eight times higher compared to the same period last year. In 2024, only nine executions were recorded by IHRNGO. One key factor behind the lower execution rate last February was the first round of parliamentary elections, held on 1 March 2024 (11 Esfand).
According to Iran Human Rights data, execution rates fluctuate in response to political events. Specifically, executions tend to increase when the likelihood of nationwide protests rises or in the aftermath of such protests. Conversely, in the lead-up to elections—when the government seeks higher voter turnout—the number of executions noticeably declines.
First 2025 Public Hanging
On the last day of February (28th), a 28-year-old man named Shoeib Rezapour was hanged on the Behesht public bridge in Esfarayen in North Khorasan province. Shoeib was from a village in Esfarayen and had been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for a murder he is alleged to have committed more than three years ago.
Public executions are also a way to instil fear among the population and have consequences on the mental health of people who attend. According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, four men were hanged in public spaces in Iran in Iran.
The diagram shows public executions since 2008. The number of public executions in 2020 was significantly lower due to COVID-19 pandemics restrictions, and no public executions were recorded in 2021. Since 2022, public executions have started rising, with numbers more than tripling in 2023 compared to 2022. In 2024, 4 people were hanged in public spaces.
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