HRANA – Hossein Shahoozahi, a detainee held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, has been sentenced to death by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court, a verdict that has recently been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Following his arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization, Shahoozahi has been accused of attempting to assassinate the Supreme Leader’s representative in Razavi Khorasan Province and of planning an attack on the governor’s office.
According to Haal Vsh, Mashhad Revolutionary Court had previously issued the initial death sentence against Shahoozahi, which has now been upheld by the country’s highest judicial authority.
Hossein Shahoozahi, 29, a native of Zahedan, is currently being held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.
He was arrested by IRGC Intelligence forces at the Mashhad bus terminal. On December 9, 2022, the Public Relations Office of the IRGC in Razavi Khorasan Province confirmed the arrest of several individuals, including Shahouzehi, claiming that they were affiliated with an opposition group. The IRGC’s statement further alleged that “a significant quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was discovered and confiscated from these individuals.”
Following his arrest, Shahoozahi faced multiple charges, including possession of weapons, attempting to assassinate Ahmad Alamolhoda -the Supreme Leader’s representative in Razavi Khorasan Province – and planning an attack on the governor’s office in Mashhad. The Revolutionary Court ultimately sentenced him to death. Throughout the judicial process, he was denied the right to access legal counsel.
According to local media reports, Shahouzehi was held for about six months in the IRGC Intelligence detention facility, where he was subjected to pressure and violent treatment by interrogators. During this period, he was also denied any contact or visits with his family.
Local sources further reported that Shahoozahi had been arrested simultaneously with another individual named Yousef Mohammad-Hosseini, 25, and a native of Mirjaveh. To date, there has been no information about Mohammad-Hosseini’s fate, which remains unknown.
HRANA- On the World Day against the Death Penalty, the Center of Statistics of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) has published its annual report in an effort to inform the public about situation of the death penalty in Iran, particularly thousands of individuals facing the death penalty and awaiting looming executions.
HRA’s Statistics Center relies on the work of HRANA reporters, as well as a network of independent and verifiable sources. It also incorporates the judicial authorities’ announcements or confirmations of prisoner executions on media, and as such, is exposed to a margin of error representing efforts by the Iranian authorities to omit, conceal, or restrict the collection of such data.
Between October 10, 2024, and October 8, 2025, at least 1537 individuals were executed by hanging in Iran, rising to 86.07% compared to the same period last year. Of these executions, 8 were carried out in public. The defendants were deprived of the right to a fair trial.
HRANA obtained 1314 reports regarding executions and death penalty in Iran during this period. The identified executed individuals, include 49 women and 3 juvenile offenders under the age of 18 at the time of alleged crime. Compared to the last period, the execution of female offenders has increased 113%.
According to the reports obtained by HRANA, over this period, Iranian authorities sentenced at least 191 defendants to death penalty, including at least 14 women, and 4 individuals to public execution. Death sentences issued increased by 2.6% compared to the last year. In the reporting period, the Supreme Court additionally upheld 54 previously imposed death sentences.
As illustrated in the chart below, based on the number of individuals executed, the highest number of reports were published in September 2025, while the most significant drop in the number of reports occurred in October 2025. since only one-third of the month has passed, these statistics may change by the end of the current month.
As illustrated in the chart below, based on the number of collected reports, the highest number of reports on violations in this area were published in September 2025, while the most significant drop in the number of reports was observed in October 2025. since only one-third of the month has passed, these statistics may change by the end of the current month.
Based on the collected information, 48.34% of the executed individuals were sentenced on drug-related charges, and 43.46% on murder charges in Iran. Additionally, 2.15% were executed on charges of rape, 1.89% on unknown charges, 1.69% on Moharebeh or Baghi (political-security related) charges, 0.85% on non-political Moharebeh charges, 0.85% on security-related charges (espionage, terrorism, or bombing), 0.52% on corruption on earth, 0.2% on armed robbery, and 0.07% on ideological, political, or religious charges.
The pie chart below displays execution numbers by the province in which they took place. According to this chart, the Alborz (where three overcrowded prisons are located) had the highest number of executions at 14.57%. Isfahan and Fars Provinces come second and third, with 8.39% and 7.87%, respectively.
The table below shows the execution rate per 100,000 people in the provinces of Iran, based on the number of executions and the population of each province. This table provides a comparison of the implementation of death sentences across different provinces and identifies those with the highest execution rates relative to their population, which can serve as an indicator of the intensity of judicial enforcement in various regions of the country.
Execution Rate per Capita in Iran’s Provinces Based on the Number of Executions and Population
The chart below depicts the distribution of executions’ information sources. The chart indicates that 94.14% of HRANA-confirmed executions were not announced by the official Iranian sources. Undisclosed executions are referred to as “secret” executions.
The chart down shows the execution numbers by gender.
The chart below displays execution numbers by the prison where the executions were carried out. The Qezel Hesar Prison of Karaj And Dastgerd Prison of Esfahan officials have carried out the highest number.
The chart below displays percentage of executions carried out in public vs the number of executions that were carried out in prison. According to statistics, 0.52% of the executions in Iran were carried out in public.
Ten-Year Trend of Executions in Iran (2014–2025)
Although there have been periods of relative decline in the number of executions within the reporting period, the overall trend indicates a continuous increase and a return to high levels of capital punishment enforcement.
According to data from the Statistics Department of Human Rights Activists (HRA), after a noticeable decline between 2015 and 2019, the number of executions began to rise again starting in 2021. This increase peaked in the period of 2024–2025, with at least 1,537 executions recorded, the highest number documented in the past decade.
Compared to the previous year (823 cases), the number of executions has increased by more than 86%, also showing a significant rise compared to the ten-year annual average. These figures have been recorded despite the continued lack of access to official and transparent information in this field, and a substantial portion of executions have been carried out secretly or without public disclosure.
According to data from the Statistics Department of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), over the past ten-year period, drug-related charges and intentional murder have accounted for the highest share of executions carried out in the country. This is despite the fact that, based on the 2017 amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Law, projections had anticipated a decrease in executions in this category.
During this period, a significant portion of executions were related to drug offenses, followed by intentional murder as the second most common charge. Other charges, including rape, armed robbery, moharebeh, corruption on earth, security and political offenses, as well as crimes related to sexual conduct or alcohol—have comprised a smaller share of the total executions.
Download the annual report in PDF format.
On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Human Rights Activists in Iran issued a statement calling for urgent and coordinated action by the international community to halt the ten-year wave of executions, reform domestic laws, hold perpetrators of extrajudicial executions accountable, and take unified international measures to confront the growing wave of executions in Iran. Click here to read the full text of the statement.
HRANA- On Wednesday, October 8, nine prisoners were executed by hanging in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.
According to HRANA, four of the executed individuals had been sentenced to death on drug-related charges, four on murder charges, and one on a charge of rape.
The identity of one of the prisoners has been confirmed as Ahmadi Mohammadi, who was convicted on drug-related charges. HRANA has also identified another prisoner as Mahmoud Valiollah, who had been arrested on a murder charge.
A close relative of Mr. Valiollah told HRANA: “Mahmoud was the father of a 16-year-old son and two daughters, aged 6 and 10. He had lived in Tehran for many years. In the summer of 2021, he shot and killed his wife. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.”
The Hamshahri daily reported that one of the other executed prisoners was a man who, in March 2024, killed the wife of one of his colleagues during a robbery. He was arrested, sentenced to death, and his sentence was carried out in prison.
According to the same source, another executed prisoner was a man named Pedram, who three years earlier had killed the woman he was romantically interested in in order to steal her Tiggo car and buried her body in the Taleqan desert. He was arrested, tried, sentenced to death, and executed at dawn on Wednesday.
Hamshahri also reported that another of those executed was a man who had been arrested about seven years ago on charges of killing a young woman over a financial dispute. Her body was later found along the Tehran–Qom highway. The man was executed early Wednesday morning following his trial and sentencing.
In addition, Hamshahri reported that one of the executed prisoners had been arrested on charges of raping one of his relatives.
Since the beginning of this year, 183 people have been executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison alone, a figure unprecedented in comparison to previous years.
HRANA- On Monday, October 6, four prisoners were executed in Dastgerd Prison, Isfahan.
HRANA has confirmed the identities of two of the executed prisoners as Abolfazl Lerni and Ahmad Arzani. All four prisoners had been arrested and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
Further details, including the identities of the other two executed prisoners, are currently being investigated by HRANA.
As of this report’s publication, the executions have not been announced by prison officials or relevant authorities.
According to HRANA’s statistics, in 2024, 61 inmates were hanged in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan – a 74% increase compared to the previous year. This sharp rise reflects a disturbing escalation in executions at this facility.
HRANA- In recent days, four prisoners were executed in the prisons of Malayer, Sabzevar, Saveh, and Qom on charges related to drug offenses and murder.
According to HRANA, on Sunday, October 5, a prisoner identified as Sobhan Najafi was hanged in Malayer Prison, Hamadan Province. Based on information obtained by HRANA, Mr. Najafi had previously been arrested on a murder charge and later sentenced to death by a criminal court.
The following day, a prisoner named Reza Saqaei was executed in Sabzevar Prison, Razavi Khorasan Province, for drug-related offenses. On the same day, another prisoner, whose last name was verified by HRANA as Hosseini, was executed in Saveh Prison on murder charges.
Finally, on Tuesday, October 7, authorities at Qom Prison executed a prisoner identified as Farzad (last name unknown) for drug-related offenses.
As of this report’s publication, none of these executions have been announced by prison officials or judicial authorities.
From the beginning of this year until the end of September, the Iranian regime has executed 1,028 people, marking an unprecedented increase compared to previous years.
HRANA – At dawn on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, two prisoners previously sentenced to death on drug-related charges were executed in Kermanshah Prison.
HRANA has confirmed the identities of the executed prisoners as Arsalan Khani and Ghasem (last name unknown).
Based on information obtained by HRANA, both men had been arrested on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death by Revolutionary Courts.
As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or other responsible institutions. According to HRANA reports, in 2024, only 6% of executions were announced by official bodies or domestic media outlets. Over the past five years, 77% of executions have gone unreported – commonly referred to as secret executions. In some of these cases, the lack of transparency is so severe that the death-row prisoners are denied even the chance for a final visit with their families.
From the beginning of this year until the end of September, the Iranian regime has executed 1,028 people, marking an unprecedented increase compared to previous years.
At dawn on Sunday, October 5, four prisoners were executed in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz on drug-related charges.
HRANA has identified the executed prisoners as Rahman Derakhshani (Jahanbakhsh Rakhshani), Mohammad Soltanpour, Nour Mohammad Naseri, and Farzad Rasoulzadeh.
These four prisoners had previously been arrested on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.
As of the time of this report, the executions have not been announced by prison authorities or official institutions.
In 2024, Iranian prisons witnessed the execution of 930 inmates. According to HRANA’s data, the number of executions carried out by the Iranian regime’s judiciary has risen steadily over the past five years. The percentage of executions related to drug charges has also increased year after year.
HRANA – The death sentence of Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaei Sani, a political prisoner held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, has been upheld by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, after having been overturned twice previously.
Attorney Babak Paknia announced the development on social media, writing: “The death sentence of Mr. Mohammad-Javad Vafaei Sani on the charge of corruption on earth (efsad fel-arz) through arson and destruction of public property has been upheld by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, despite numerous flaws. Regarding these flaws and the interference of third parties in the judicial process, correspondence has been made with the head of the judiciary. I hope that before it’s too late, his special inspectors will intervene in the case.”
Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaei Sani, a 28-year-old political prisoner and boxing coach, was arrested in March 2020 in Mashhad and transferred to Vakilabad Prison. He was initially sentenced to death by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court on the charge of “corruption on earth through intentional destruction.” The Supreme Court overturned the verdict, sending the case back to a parallel branch for retrial.
In the second trial, he was again sentenced to death, but in June 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling once more and remanded the case for a third review.
In September 2024, Branch 3 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court once again sentenced him to death on the charge of “corruption on earth.”
HRANA News Agency – On Saturday, October 4, 2025, the Judiciary Media Center announced the execution of six prisoners in Khuzestan, describing them as “members of a separatist terrorist network affiliated with the Zionist regime.”
Mizan News Agency, the Judiciary Media Center stated: “The death sentences of six separatist terrorist elements who, in recent years, carried out a series of armed operations and bombings targeting the security of Khuzestan Province were carried out this morning after completing all legal procedures and approval by the Supreme Court.”
The report further alleged that these prisoners were involved in the deaths of four security and police officers identified as Allah-Nazar Safari, Mohammadreza Rafiei-Nasab, Ali Salehi-Majd, and Younes Bahr.
The Judiciary’s statement also attributed actions such as “collaboration with Israel, designing and carrying out sabotage operations including bomb-making and planting explosives, the explosion at the Khorramshahr gas station, armed attacks on banks, throwing grenades at a military center, and shooting at mosques” to the executed individuals.
Hours after the initial announcement, Mizan updated its report, releasing the names and photos of the six executed prisoners: Ali Mojaddam, Mohammadreza Moghaddam, Moein Khanfari, Habib Deris, Adnan Ghobeishavi, and Salem Mousavi.
The six men were arrested by security forces in Khuzestan in February 2019.
In March 2023, Ali Mojaddam and Mohammadreza Moghaddam were sentenced to death by the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court on charges of leading and membership in the “military wing of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (Harakat al-Nidal al-Arabi fi Ahvaz),” for “armed action against the Islamic Republic.” Moein Khanfari, Habib Deris, Adnan Ghobeishavi, and Salem Mousavi were also sentenced to death for membership in the same group and for “armed action against the Islamic Republic.”
Before the executions, Mojaddam, Moghaddam, Khanfari, and Ghobeishavi were held in Sepidar Prison of Ahvaz, and Deris and Mousavi were also detained in the same facility.
The report did not specify the exact location where the executions were carried out.
HRANA – On Saturday morning, Mizan News Agency, announced the execution of Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh, a political prisoner from Sanandaj. Mr. Mohammadi Khiyareh had previously been sentenced to death by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
The Judiciary’s Media Center stated that the sentence was carried out this morning, Saturday, October 4, 2025, after being upheld by the Supreme Court. In its report, the Judiciary accused Saman Mohammadi of “enmity against God (moharebeh) through membership in terrorist and Takfiri groups, carrying out armed operations, and planning and directing the assassination of Mamousta Sheikh al-Islam.”
The Judiciary further accused him of “armed robbery of a jewelry shop in Hamedan, stealing a private vehicle and killing its driver, shooting at civilians, and attacking a police station at the Sheikhan intersection in Sanandaj, which resulted in the death of a soldier.”
Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh, approximately 34 years old and a native of Sanandaj, was arrested in February 2010 on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God). A few months later, he was sentenced to death by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolghasem Salavati. However, due to insufficient evidence, the Supreme Court’s Branch 41 overturned the verdict and sent the case to another branch for retrial. The new court sentenced him instead to 15 years in prison on charges of membership in anti-regime groups.
Nevertheless, in an opaque process and under pressure from security agencies – the complainants in the case – this ruling was overturned, and he was once again sentenced to death on the same charges.
A source close to the prisoner’s family previously told HRANA: “During detention, Saman Mohammadi was subjected to physical and psychological torture and forced to confess to charges including the killing of a military officer and another individual during the 2009 protests. However, he denied these confessions at every stage of interrogation and trial.”
According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year – a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.
