Iranian authorities have reportedly executed at least 113 individuals in the first 25 days of May 2025, according to Human Rights Watch. The organization urges the international community to press Iran to halt all executions, including those of political prisoners facing imminent execution.
Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based NGO, reports that Iranian authorities have executed 478 people so far in 2025. This marks a 75 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024. If this trend continues, over 1,000 individuals could be executed by year’s end. These include ethnic minorities and political dissidents.
Federico Borello, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch, stated: “Iran’s authorities have executed at least three people a day on average during the first five months of 2025, with more dissidents and marginalized communities falling victim to the government’s vicious repression of dissent and brutal anti-drug policy.” He called for urgent international action to stop these executions.
The death penalty is reportedly used by Iranian authorities as a tool to suppress opposition and instill fear among persecuted ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Several individuals accused of national security offenses are believed to be at risk of imminent execution.
Among those at risk are Pedram Madani, Mehdi Hassani, and Behrouz Ehsani Eslamlou, who are on death row in Ghezel Hesar Prison. Madani’s family was summoned for a last visit on May 25, indicating his execution may occur soon.
Hassani and Eslamlou’s requests for judicial review were rejected by Iran’s Supreme Court in May 2025. They were sentenced to death on charges related to alleged affiliations with an outlawed opposition group after trials that reportedly did not meet fair trial standards.
Other politically motivated death sentences were reported in May. Ehsan Faridi was sentenced by Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz on charges of “corruption on earth.” Peyman Farah Avar was sentenced by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht for charges linked to his poetry and activism.
Concerns for political dissidents grew following the April execution of Hamid Hosseinnejad Haydaranlu. He was convicted for alleged membership in a Kurdish opposition group despite claims he was tortured into confessing.
Iran’s application of the death penalty disproportionately affects ethnic minorities and impoverished communities. Over half of those executed in April faced drug-related charges; many belonged to marginalized groups such as Baluch, Kurdish, Turkmen, and Arab peoples.
Under international human rights law, the death penalty should only apply to crimes involving intentional killing under exceptional circumstances. The United Nations special rapporteur on Iran noted structural flaws leading to arbitrary deprivation of life through executions.
Since January 2024, Iranian death row prisoners have participated in hunger strikes every Tuesday as part of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has supported this initiative through solidarity hunger strikes.
Borello emphasized: “Death row prisoners in Iran are regularly going on hunger strike for their lives and those of their fellow death row inmates… The international community should stand up for their human dignity.”
