HRANA News Agency – On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Human Rights Activists in Iran issued a statement expressing concern over the alarming and unprecedented rise in executions over the past year. The statement warns that the Iranian regime continues to use executions as a tool for political repression and social control.

Read the full text of the statement below:

On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) expresses grave concern over the striking escalation of executions carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to verified data from HRA’s Statistics and Publication Department, at least 1,537 individuals were executed between October 10, 2024, and October 8, 2025, marking an 86% increase compared to the previous period and the highest figure recorded in the past decade.

A Decade-High Record of State Killings

HRA’s review of ten years of data reveals that after a brief decline between 2015 and 2019, executions have risen sharply each year since 2021, peaking in 2025. This year’s total, 1,537 executions, is cause for grave concern, in particular as over 94% of the 1,537 executions were carried out in secret, without public announcement or acknowledgment by authorities. This pattern which underscores the regime’s deliberate efforts to conceal the true scale of its violence.

The statistics are deeply troubling:

• 8 public executions were recorded
• 3 juvenile offenders were executed
• 49 women were executed, a 113% increase in female executions compared to the same period last year
• Drug-related executions accounted for 48.3% of total executions, while murder charges accounted for 43.5%.

Trials in which victims were sentenced to death were routinely characterized by the use of coerced confessions obtained through torture or other forms of ill-treatment, and by the absence of essential fair trial guarantees as required under international law.

The Death Penalty as a Tool of Political and Social Control

HRA’s analysis indicates that this surge is not incidental but a state policy of intimidation. Amid an escalating economic crisis, domestic protests, and growing social dissent, the authorities have used executions to project fear and assert control.

While Iranian officials claim that the death penalty serves as a deterrent to crime, there is no credible evidence to support this assertion, and international human rights bodies have consistently found that capital punishment does not have a unique deterrent effect.

Regional Disparities and the Machinery of Death

According to HRA’s data, Alborz Province, home to overcrowded prisons such as Qezel Hesar, recorded the highest number of executions (14.6%), followed by Isfahan (8.4%) and Fars (7.9%). In proportional terms, smaller provinces such as South Khorasan, Qom, and Yazd exhibited the highest execution rates per capita, demonstrating how local judicial systems, particularly revolutionary courts, are key enforcers of intimidation through capital punishment.

A Decisive Moment for Global Action

The ongoing and numerous executions imposed following unfair trials, often based on forced confessions extracted under duress, without the presence of legal counsel, constitute a serious violation of the right to life. 

HRA calls on the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to:

1. Immediately establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to absolute abolition of the death penalty.
2. Commute all existing death sentences and undertake a comprehensive review of all existing death penalty cases.
3. Ensure transparency by publishing official data on all death sentences, including the identities of those sentenced, the charges against them, and the trial details.
4. Guarantee fair trial rights, including access to legal counsel and prohibition of torture or coerced confessions.
5. Investigate and hold accountable all officials responsible for unlawful executions, and ensure that all officials responsible, including judicial and security personnel involved in ordering or implementing such executions, are held to account in accordance with international standards.
6. Allow independent monitoring by the UN Special Rapporteurs on Iran and on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions.

HRA calls on the international community to:

1. Call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to the full abolition of the death penalty.
2. Urge Iran to adhere to fair trial standards, as well as review and amend domestic legislation that permits the systematic use of the death penalty.
3. Support the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI) and the Special Rapporteur on Iran to ensure the inclusion of unlawful executions in reporting.
4. Utilize international accountability mechanisms, including the coordinated use of targeted human rights sanctions against those responsible for implementing or ordering unlawful executions.
5. Strengthen support for and protection of Iranian civil society actors, including families of victims, journalists, and human rights defenders documenting executions.
6. Ensure that victims and their families have access to effective remedies and reparations, and urge the Iranian authorities to immediately end the harassment and intimidation of victims’ relatives.

The international community bears a collective responsibility to ensure that the stories of more than 1,500 Iranians do not end in silence. Each execution carried out in Iran represents not only the unlawful taking of a life but also the suppression of dissent, the devastation of families, and the normalization of state violence.

On this World Day Against the Death Penalty, HRA calls for coordinated and principled international action to end the widespread and arbitrary use of capital punishment in Iran. Halting these violations requires sustained global pressure and steadfast solidarity with those inside the country who continue to fight for life, dignity, and justice.

HRANA– Three years ago, on September 16, 2022, Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in the custody of Iran’s so-called “morality police” after being detained for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Mahsa’s brutal death in detention ignited the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the largest wave of protests Iran had seen in decades.

As we approach the third anniversary, HRA seeks to shine a light on the progress of the movement despite ongoing repression at the hands of the State, and calls for accountability in light of ongoing impunity.

In its 2024 report, the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI) concluded that the State was responsible, stating, “Based on the evidence and patterns of violence by the morality police in the enforcement of the mandatory hijab on women, the mission is satisfied that Ms. Amini was subjected to physical violence that led to her death. On that basis, the State bears responsibility for her unlawful death.” 

While the FFMI’s findings make clear the State’s responsibility, there has been little to no justice for Mahsa’s death or the violent crackdown that followed. Still, in the face of impunity, the movement has endured, shifting from the streets into new forms of expression and defiance.

From the Streets to Cyberspace: The Movement Endures 

Though the government’s brutal crackdown forced the majority of protests off the streets, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has not ceased. It has transformed, and it is thriving.

Today, it lives in digital spaces and in acts of daily resistance. Women across Iran are increasingly visible without hijab in public places from Tehran’s markets and cafes to airports and bazaars, despite the State’s constant surveillance and repeated threats. Videos circulating online show women walking unveiled alongside peers who veil by choice, an image that powerfully illustrates a modern Iran, made only possible by the demands of the movement.

One woman, speaking with HRA on the status of mandatory hijab today, stated: “Every time I walk outside without a hijab, I know I risk harassment, arrest, or worse. But I also know that if I stay silent, nothing will ever change. This is not just about a piece of cloth, it is about dignity, choice, and the right to live as a free human being.”

The state has, indeed, sought to maintain control, deploying AI surveillance, reviving so-called morality patrols under new names, shuttering businesses, and attempting to codify the repressive Hijab and Chastity Bill. Yet enforcement has faltered. The widespread acts of defiance by Iranian women have significantly raised the political and social costs of enforcement. This shift has constrained the state’s capacity to implement its most punitive measures. Notably, in December 2024, authorities were compelled to delay the rollout of the Hijab and Chastity Bill; This is a testament to the enduring strength of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Even in the face of extraordinary repression and ongoing harassment, there is a clear impact of civil resistance.

Over the past three years, however, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) have documented the profound toll of repression that followed both in the immediate aftermath of Mahsa’s death and throughout the movement. The numbers paint a picture that demands action.

• At least 552 people were killed during the height of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests between (09/2022-11/2022).
• According to government officials, at least 34,000 were arrested during the same period.

In the aftermath, as the street protests subsided;

• At least 12 detainees linked to the Woman, Life, Freedom protests have been executed, and 8 have been sentenced to death, currently awaiting execution.
• At least 33,818 people have reported confrontations with authorities, citing a warning for not observing proper hijab laws.
• 654 women have been arrested in relation to improper hijab.
• 1,386 businesses have been shut down either temporarily or permanently for allowing unveiled women onto their premises.
• 7 travel bans have been issued.
•Citizens continue to face summons, are subject to physical and psychological torture, including through coerced forced confessions, face travel bans, and, in at least one case, a 31-year-old mother of two was shot and left paralyzed after police opened fire on her vehicle, which had been flagged for impoundment under compulsory hijab enforcement.

Call to Action: Toward Accountability 

Despite the progress Iranians have carved out for themselves, three years later, repression persists, with no accountability for the death in detention of Mahsa Jina Amini or for the crimes against humanity that followed, most notably gender persecution. This campaign of persecution has manifested in arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, and unlawful killings.

A Mother, whose daughter was killed by the police at the height of protests in 2022, told HRA,  “​​The government may ignore us, may erase names from the news, may even threaten us into silence, but they cannot erase the consequences of what they have done.” She continued, “My daughters’ siblings ask us why no one is punished, why no trial is held, and why the killers walk free. We have no answer for them, only silence and tears. Our daughter is gone, but our pain is not; it stretches forward, shaping our lives.” 

This ongoing impunity emboldens perpetrators and perpetuates cycles of abuse. The scale and nature of these violations require an urgent, coordinated international response.

Today, on the third anniversary of the death in detention of Mahsa Jina Amini, HRA calls for:

• Robust, targeted accountability efforts through the use of universal jurisdiction, particularly by states with the mandate and capacity to act, including but not limited to Germany, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom. These jurisdictions have shown leadership in advancing justice for international crimes and should move swiftly to investigate crimes against humanity, including gender persecution, committed in Iran.
• The strategic and coordinated use of targeted human rights sanctions, ensuring that those most responsible, including low-level but high-impact perpetrators, are designated..
• The advancement of international investigative mechanisms, including strong support at the UN Human Rights Council for the work of the FFMI as a critical pathway to truth and accountability.
• Concrete support for survivors and families of victims, ensuring that their rights to truth, justice, and reparations are at the center of all accountability efforts.
• Sustained international pressure to ensure that Iran’s leadership cannot evade responsibility.

In Iran, the FFMI and independent investigations by civil society, including HRA in partnership with UpRights, have documented concrete evidence that persecution on the basis of gender, amounting to crimes against humanity, has taken place since at least September 16, 2022. States have a clear obligation under international law to investigate, prosecute, and remedy systematic human rights violations, including those amounting to violations of international law.  The international community must act in line with these obligations, ensuring that accountability is not delayed or denied. The courage of Iranians has changed the social fabric of their country. The international community must match this bravery with decisive action.

As of June 19th, 22:00 UTC, Human Rights Activists have documented more than 2,694 casualties across Iran as a direct result of Israeli airstrikes, including 657 dead and 2,307 wounded. We, the undersigned organizations, express our grave concern over Israel’s illegal targeting of Iran, and in addition, its targeting of Iranian civilians and civilian infrastructure in violation of International Humanitarian Law.

In recent days, HRA’s reports have documented attacks on locations that are indisputably civilian, including residential neighborhoods, public service centers, medical facilities, and media institutions. The repeated and deliberate targeting of protected civilian infrastructure constitutes a breach of the principle of distinction, a cornerstone of IHL, and may amount to war crimes under international law. These are not abstract violations. Every attack shatters lives: children asleep in their homes, parents gathering for meals, grandparents who have lived for decades in neighborhoods now reduced to rubble. These are not numbers. These are human beings. Iranian civilians, already subjected to decades of repression, economic hardship, and structural violence, are now enduring bombardments in the very communities they have long called home.

We call on all States and members of the international community to:

1. Call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, prioritizing the protection of civilian lives and reaffirming the imperative to uphold international peace and security.
2. Publicly and unequivocally condemn the unlawful targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran, recognizing these actions as serious violations of international law.
3. Reinforce adherence to international humanitarian law by ensuring that respect for civilian protection standards remains central to all bilateral and multilateral engagement.
4. Support credible, independent investigations into these incidents, including through international accountability mechanisms.
5. Reframe public discourse to center the humanity of victims, emphasizing the personal and societal impact of lives lost.

Failure to condemn and identify these violations at the earliest stages is a grave failure, one that amounts to silent complicity. Every instance of unlawful targeting represents a life ended, a family destroyed, a community torn apart. The international community must act with moral clarity and without delay. The erosion of these norms endangers not only Iranian civilians but all people living in conflict zones around the world. We urge all actors, States, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society to act now and to act together to ensure that the protection of civilians remains a universal priority.

Signed:

Center for Human Rights in Iran
CIVICUS
Siamak Pourzand Foundation
Access Now
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC)
Human Rights Activists (HRA)
CLADEM – Latin American and Caribbean Network of Women’s Rights
Tunisian League for Human Rights defense
Kandoo
Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits Humains en Afrique Centrale
De|Center
Women Empower and Mentor All (WEmpower)
SAPI International
Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE)
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
Organization of the Justice Campaign
Life campaign to abolish the death sentence in Kurdistan
FORUMVERT
Digital Rights Kashmir

Given the Israeli attacks across Iran unfolding on June 13, 2025, and as military escalation continues, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) calls on all parties to uphold binding obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL). The intensification of hostilities, including cross-border missile and drone attacks, places Iranian civilians at grave and immediate risk.

International humanitarian law requires that all feasible precautions to protect civilians and objects are taken. This includes, at a minimum, compliance with the core principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.
All Parties Must Take Measures to Protect Civilians, Including:

Clearly identifying military targets and ensuring that attacks are not directed at civilians or civilian objects.
Issuing effective warnings to civilians in areas at risk, allowing time and opportunity for evacuation or shelter.
Avoiding attacks in densely populated areas, particularly where civilian harm is foreseeable.
Ensuring the protection of civilian infrastructure.

The recent incidents involving Israeli attacks on Iran underscore the urgency of the following questions:
Were military targets clearly identified and necessary?

Were civilians given adequate warning or evacuation options?
Was civilian infrastructure damaged or destroyed?

The answers to these questions are essential in assessing compliance with IHL.

Even when military objectives exist, the anticipated military advantage must be weighed against the expected harm to civilians. Any failure to take adequate precautions or to limit civilian harm may amount to a serious breach of international law.

HRA emphasizes that respect for IHL is not optional; it is a legal and moral obligation. As Israel has indicated forthcoming attacks, it must refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks and take active steps to shield civilians from the effects of hostilities. Any alternative action is a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The protection of civilian life must remain a central concern. As the situation unfolds, HRA will continue to document incidents, assess patterns of harm, and advocate for accountability under international legal standards.

In the international human rights community, we often respond most urgently when executions involve political prisoners, protesters, or vulnerable groups such as juveniles. These cases, with their clear violations of fundamental freedoms and international protections, rightfully draw outrage and attention. But in Iran, the death penalty reaches beyond these categories, and, as a community, our framing must evolve to reflect this truth.

The prevailing narrative around executions in Iran too often excludes individuals convicted of crimes like murder or drug related offenses, despite facing the same systemic denial of fair trial rights. This omission is not merely a gap; it’s a failure of advocacy. The exclusion of these individuals, those whose names we rarely know, whose trials attract no headlines, reflects a broader problem in how we understand and respond to state violence. In fact, in a system where due process is systematically denied, all executions are arbitrary, and all victims deserve our outrage and attention.

A System That Cannot Administer Justice

Iran’s judicial system is characterized not by justice, but by opacity, coercion, and impunity. Trials are sometimes conducted in absentia, and defendants are routinely denied access to legal counsel. Although Iranian law requires that individuals facing the death penalty have legal representation, most are unable to access a lawyer of their choice due to poverty, lack of available counsel, or limited family support. In murder cases, the state further evades responsibility by deferring the decision to carry out an execution to the victim’s family, invoking the principle of Qisas or “blood for blood.” This practice, while not unique to Iran, enables the government to deflect accountability and places the burden of life-and-death decisions on grieving families, often under intense social and financial pressure. Despite its prevalence, serious concerns around due process remain.

In addition, confessions are often extracted under physical and or psychological torture. Evidence is concealed or even fabricated. These practices are not exceptions; they are features.

In conversation with HRA about her son, one mother stated: “The so-called confession was taken under torture. He told us after the first interrogation, he couldn’t even remember what he said. They made him sign papers he didn’t understand. No real lawyer, no right to speak, no chance to defend himself.”

In such a context, the notion that any individual, regardless of the charge, has received a fair trial is untenable. When the judiciary lacks independence and impartiality, no death sentence can be deemed legitimate. The crime alleged is irrelevant when the process used to establish guilt is wholly unreliable.

Yet, the international community continues to apply a double standard, rallying forcefully for those with political affiliations, while, perhaps even unintentionally, overlooking those accused of murder or other criminal offenses. By drawing these distinctions, we risk sending the message that some lives are more worth defending than others. As a result, a significant number of cases are excluded from the broader narrative.

through May 31^st, 2025

There are several potential reasons for this, including the fact that some Western countries, such as the United States, continue to impose the death penalty for what they deem as meeting the ‘most serious crime’ threshold. Still, the central issue remains the same: the absence of fair trial guarantees. This is a clear and accessible entry point for Western governments seeking to engage on the matter. It is important to note that the vast majority of Western governments have either abolished the death penalty or issued formal moratoriums on its use.

The Myth of the “Wave”: A Systemic, Not Episodic, Crisis

The headline phrase “wave of executions” is used repeatedly in media coverage and advocacy reports. It evokes a sudden, alarming increase, a break from the norm. But in Iran, executions are the norm.

In 2024 alone, HRA documented over 925 executions across Iran, spanning various provinces and demographics. In May 2025 alone, 157 executions were recorded. Political prisoners represent only a small fraction of those executed, the broader landscape remains alarming; nearly 7,500 individuals are currently on death row in Iran, 50 of them being political prisoners. That is less than 1%.

The data gathered by HRA from specific prisons underscores this disproportion. From May 2024 to May 2025, Ghezel Hesar Prison (Karaj), Adel Abad Prison (Shiraz), and Dastgerd Prison (Isfahan) recorded the highest execution rates. In Karaj, where the prison population is estimated at 12,000, 173 people were executed. Of that population, the number of political prisoners housed fluctuates between 25 and 30. In Isfahan, 76 individuals were executed over the year; the prison holds 5 to 10 political prisoners at any given time.

The data is clear. Execution is not a tool reserved for political dissidents it is a mechanism of repression used across all regions and categories of offense. Many are individuals the international community never hears about convicted of offenses such as robbery, murder, or sexual assault, often following deeply flawed trials.

In a conversation with HRA, a mother of a young man executed expressed her pain at the lack of public recognition for his case: “It’s like screaming into a void. The world didn’t seem to care. His name didn’t trend. No one issued a statement. He just disappeared quietly, and we were left to grieve in silence.”

The mother continued: “When it’s someone from a poor neighborhood, someone accused of a crime in the chaos of poverty and addiction, they are erased. Their humanity is erased.” She went on to pose the question: “Isn’t every life worth fighting for?”

The “Most Serious Crimes” Standard: A Flawed Justification in Iran

International human rights law allows for the death penalty only in rare cases involving the “most serious crimes,” a term most often interpreted to include ‘intentional killing’. But this standard presupposes a functioning judicial system, one capable of discerning guilt through fair and impartial procedures.

In Iran, that assumption does not hold. The legal infrastructure fails at every stage: investigation, prosecution, defense, and adjudication. HRA advocates for a moratorium against the use of the death penalty across the board. However, the use of the death penalty for murder, while superficially aligned with international thresholds, becomes indefensible when the accused are denied even the most basic rights. It is not only the crime that defines the legitimacy of an execution; it is the credibility of the process. And in Iran, that credibility is absent. As one mother put it to HRA, “My son made mistakes, but he didn’t deserve death.”

Toward a More Honest and Inclusive Advocacy

As advocates, we have a responsibility to critically examine the language we use and the categories we prioritize. Every execution carried out under Iran’s deeply flawed judicial system constitutes a violation of international law. Every victim named or unnamed, political or non-political matters. That recognition begins with understanding that it is not the nature of the alleged crime, but the arbitrariness and injustice of the judicial process itself, that renders every death sentence fundamentally illegitimate. We must also move beyond the misleading narratives and acknowledge the systemic, entrenched use of the death penalty across Iran. While it remains important to highlight urgent cases, we must find balance, and do so without implying that some lives are more worthy of attention or advocacy than others.

This is not merely a question of accuracy in reporting, it is about affirming the principle that every life holds equal value, and that human rights protections apply to all, especially to those whose stories are so often left untold. It is about being the voice of the voiceless, for those like the young man who was executed, whose mother was left to fight in silence.

On this International Women’s Day (March 8, 2025), and every day, we want to recognize and center the stories, voices, and expertise of women and gender minorities/gender diverse persons who languish behind bars in racist, classist, and patriarchal legal systems around the world. Fighting for women’s rights includes protecting the rights of the accused, criminalized, and condemned because they are the survivors of intersectional discrimination in oppressive systems around the world.  In the current context of ongoing attacks on the rights of women and gender minorities, it is more important than ever to stand united in our fight. The death penalty, with its targeting of minorities and its arbitrary, inhumane, and discriminatory application has no place in any of our societies and we honor the organizers, advocates, and survivors who fight tirelessly around the world to abolish it.

Signing organizations:

1. Abolition Death Penalty in Iraq
2. Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran
3. ACAT-France
4. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
5. Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide (CCDPW)
6. Center for Prisoners’ Rights
7. Centre for Equality and Justice (CEJ)
8. Children Education Society (CHESO)
9. Capital Punishment Justice Project
10. Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI)
11. Harm Reduction International
12. HAYAT
13. Hope Behind Bars Africa (HBBA)
14. Humanity Diaspo
15. Human Rights Activists (in Iran) (HRA)
16. Human Rights Office of Kandy Diocese
17. Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO)
18. International Commission of Jurists – Kenya Section
19. Justice Project Pakistan
20. Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
21. Legal Awareness Watch Pakistan
22. Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
23. Penal Reform International
24. Reprieve
25. The Sunny Center Foundation
26. The Advocates for Human Rights
27. The Inclusion Project (TIP)
28. Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN)
29. Women Beyond Walls
30. World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
    

HRANA News Agency – Today, Human Rights Activists in Iran unveiled its project titled The Pasdaran Documentation Project (PDP) through a public statement. This unprecedented project is based on data collection and analysis, as well as the development of software and dynamic charts. The aim of the project is to shed light on the structure of IRGC, which has influenced the political landscape of Iran and beyond, with its footprint visible in numerous human rights violations. The project’s website is now publicly accessible. The full text of this organization’s statement can be read below.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has long been a shadowy force, with its operations largely hidden from the international community. Its influence on Iran and the broader Middle East has been both profound and destructive. Now, after two years of intensive research, the Pasdaran Documentation Project (PDP) is launching an unparalleled resource that seeks to bring transparency to the IRGC’s activities. This project marks the culmination of extensive work involving thousands of documents and the identification of key IRGC units and personnel alongside a legal analysis of incidents attributed.

Available at www.iranpdp.org, this database provides unprecedented access to detailed information on the IRGC.

Origins and Purpose

Founded by Human Rights Activists (HRA), the Pasdaran Documentation Project was established to shed light on the structure, operations, and influence of the IRGC—a state within a state in Iran. The IRGC’s activities have not only shaped Iran’s political landscape but also contributed to widespread human rights abuses and violations of international law.

The project’s core objective is to identify the IRGC’s personnel, units, and key players as a step toward dismantling the regime’s power structure. By exposing the individuals and entities involved in abuses across decades, the project helps create a roadmap for judicial and quasi-judicial accountability, including international targeted sanctions, and state-led prosecution under international law.

The project’s underlying philosophy stems from the belief that public awareness—and open-source accessibility to underlying information—is the key to change. For decades, the IRGC has operated behind a veil of propaganda, with many Iranians and global observers unaware of its extensive illicit activity. This project intends to break this cycle by offering transparent, accessible, and meticulously researched information on the IRGC’s structure and activity.

Research Methods and Technological Innovation: NALA

In the project’s first phase, the structure and chain of command were created through an in-depth analysis of books derived from Iran, first-hand accounts, open-source data, and more. This comprehensive research would not have been possible without a pioneering technological solution developed by HRA.

HRA has designed an innovative software called NALA, a multilingual research facilitation tool specifically created to enhance data analysis and streamline content discovery. NALA processes data in multiple languages, identifies key themes using custom keyword lists, and retrieves relevant material with precision. Its advanced filtering system minimizes errors and saves time, making it an indispensable tool with sustainable applications that extend far beyond its original purpose. The integration of NALA into the PDP has enabled a level of depth, accuracy, and efficiency that would otherwise be unattainable.

The Importance of Identifying the IRGC

Understanding the IRGC is critical not only for those directly affected by its actions but also for the global human rights community. The IRGC was established in 1979 to protect and export Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Over time, it has morphed into a militarized and economic juggernaut with unparalleled influence over Iranian politics, military actions, and regional affairs. Its tentacles reach far beyond Iran’s borders, impacting conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen and extending its ideological and military support to Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

What makes the IRGC particularly dangerous is its multifaceted approach to control—using both brute force through its military wing, the Quds Force, and soft power through an intricate web of economic, political, and media influence. It has committed or facilitated endless human rights violations, including torture, unlawful detention, extrajudicial killings, and the repression of political dissent.

The Pasdaran Documentation Project’s Capabilities and Tools

At the heart of the Pasdaran Documentation Project is its public-facing website, a powerful tool that offers an in-depth look into the IRGC’s operations. This online database will be the first of its kind, providing easily accessible and verifiable data on the IRGC, including:

• ▪️Detailed Profiles of IRGC Units and Personnel: The PDP has compiled over 90,000 profiles on the IRGC’s units and personnel, ranging from high-ranking commanders to mid-level operatives. These profiles outline the responsibilities, activities, and, when available and thoroughly investigated by our legal team, crimes committed by each unit or individual. Researchers, journalists, policymakers, and legal experts can use this data to track the IRGC’s operations across various domains. At the website’s initial launch, many profiles remain partially complete and will be filled with detailed information over time.
• ▪️Dynamic Charts: One of the most unique features of the PDP website is its interactive tools, which visually represent the IRGC’s chain of command from 1979 to the present.
• ▪️Searchable Databases: The website offers a powerful search function, enabling users to filter data by region, type of activity, or individual names or units. This allows for targeted research into specific members or units of the IRGC.
• ▪️Human Rights Violations and Violations of International Law: The PDP has recorded a range of human rights violations attributed to the IRGC, including incidents of torture, unlawful detentions, forced confessions, and more. This section also covers the IRGC’s role in suppressing civil unrest, particularly during the 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022-23 protests, during which numerous civilians were killed or arbitrarily detained. At the website’s initial launch, the PDP had documented at least 100 individual incidents, which are currently under review and available for public examination. Twelve of these incidents have been fully reviewed in accordance with human rights and international law.
• ▪️Partnerships and Collaborations: HRA has collaborated with international criminal lawyers and other civil society organizations ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the data. These partnerships also enable HRA to present strategic reports on legal accountability pathways, presenting potential avenues for bringing IRGC members to justice in several emblematic circumstances. These publications are forthcoming.

Why This Project Matters: Objectives and Broader Impacts

The Pasdaran Documentation Project is more than just an archive—it is a living resource designed to empower activists, policymakers, and legal experts. By providing open access to verifiable data, the PDP will serve as a cornerstone for human rights advocacy and lay the groundwork for initiating investigations into the IRGC and its members for future prosecutions.

More to Come

The Pasdaran Documentation Project is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand or challenge the IRGC’s power. HRA encourages human rights activists, legal experts, and policymakers to explore the website, use its tools, and help shine a light on the IRGC’s activities. By working together, we can build a future where the IRGC’s influence is curbed, and justice is served.

For media inquiries, detailed reports, or additional information, please contact us at [email protected]. The PDP team is available for interviews, in-depth briefings on methodology and contents unveiled, and to assist in the preparation of news reports and background understanding regarding the IRGC.

This is just the beginning. The work of exposing the truth and ensuring justice continues as PDP is updated daily with new information.

As November marks Magnitsky Month, advocates worldwide are intensifying efforts to leverage targeted sanctions against individuals involved in serious human rights abuses. For Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), this month serves as a crucial reminder of the impact that coordinated, targeted sanctions can have on the accountability gap. HRA’s work—across multiple projects dedicated to documenting abuses in Iran—has played a significant role in securing over 70 designations of Iranian individuals and entities involved in these violations across five jurisdictions.

Through its news arm, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), HRA sheds light on abuses otherwise hidden from the global view. Spreading Justice provides a comprehensive–open source– database of individuals complicit in human rights violations, making it a vital resource for policymakers and advocates seeking to connect systemic abuses to those directly responsible. Furthermore, HRA’s newest endeavor, the Pasdaran Documentation Project (PDP), has documented the extensive structure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). To date, this project has confidentially mapped over 84,000 IRGC units and identified 3,400 personnel, strengthening calls for accountability within one of Iran’s most corrupt and violent organizations.

In a timely visit to London, HRA’s Deputy Director held discussions with key figures to advocate for expanding the impact of Magnitsky-style sanctions on Iranian officials. Among these figures was Sir William Browder, the driving force behind the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, whose work underscores the power of sanctions in deterring human rights abuses globally. Browder’s commitment to securing justice for victims of human rights abuses led to the passage of the original Magnitsky Act, named after Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, who was killed after exposing government corruption. Today, Browder’s influential advocacy continues to inspire nations to adopt Magnitsky-style laws targeting human rights violators, providing a blueprint for holding powerful individuals accountable, when domestic accountability is absent.

International momentum for these sanctions is growing. In a recent debate, UK lawmakers from all major parties expressed strong support for Magnitsky-style sanctions to address Iran’s ongoing human rights abuses. UK Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty reiterated the government’s commitment to responding decisively to Iran’s violations of international law through targeted sanctions.

While in London, HRA engaged with members of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, focusing on the need to prioritize accountability for human rights abuses and violations of international law in Iran.

Additionally, HRA, in collaboration with REDRESS, briefed the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Magnitsky Sanctions and Reparations, chaired by Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith. The briefing explored strategic and coordinated approaches to implementing Magnitsky-style sanctions targeting human rights violations in Iran.

The international focus on targeted sanctions, particularly during Magnitsky Month, signals a critical moment for accountability in Iran. HRA’s efforts underscore the urgency of coordinated international action and provide essential support for those seeking to hold Iranian officials accountable for their ongoing abuses.

For more, read “Magnitsky Sanctions are the Precision Tool for Iran’s Crisis of Impunity” published in Just Security and authored by HRA Deputy Director, Skylar Thompson and Natalia Kubesch, Legal Officer at REDRESS.

In a statement released today ahead of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Human Rights Activists (HRA) and The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran (ABC) condemn the alarming surge in executions in Iran, which have reached their highest level in the last decade—at least 811 reported executions in the past year alone as reported by the organizations.

Iran has long maintained one of the highest execution rates in the world, and in recent years, the use of the death penalty has alarmingly intensified. In 2023, Iran accounted for 75% of all recorded executions globally.

From October 2023 to October 2024, at least 811 executions have been carried out, marking a sharp increase from the previous year and reaching levels not seen in nearly a decade. In August alone, at least 97 executions were reported, 45 of which were for drug-related offenses—charges that do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” under international law. This year also marks the highest number of women executed in the past decade, with 23 women being put to death.

Research consistently demonstrates that the death penalty lacks any measurable deterrent effect on crime rates. The widespread use of the death penalty in Iran is not only a grave violation of the right to life, enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), but is also emblematic of the systemic failures and corruption within the judiciary. The death penalty in Iran is routinely imposed following trials that are marred by serious due process violations, including the use of coerced forced confessions extracted under torture as a primary source of conviction in the majority of cases alongside the regular denial of access to legal representation. The Iranian judiciary, far from being an independent arbiter of justice, has instead become an instrument of state repression, using the death penalty to silence dissent and instill fear among the population.

We call on the Iranian authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, in line with repeated calls from the United Nations and civil society organizations, and to address the structural flaws within the judiciary that enable these grave violations.

The international community must hold Iran accountable, call for a moratorium, and support efforts to ensure that justice is not used as a tool of oppression, but as a means to protect and uphold the fundamental rights of all individuals.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Human Rights Activists (HRA) welcomes the coordinated actions taken by the United States and its allies to impose targeted sanctions on Iranian officials implicated in human rights violations. These sanctions also specifically target officials in Iranian prison systems who are responsible for human right abuses in prison, including the use of torture and sexual assaults against prisoners, the denial of medical care to political prisoners, the violent suppression of protesters protesting their conditions, and the kidnapping of regime critics abroad.

This decisive measure underscores a collective commitment to hold accountable those responsible for violations against the Iranian people.

Among those sanctioned are individuals with documented records of severe abuses. HRA emphasizes that our initiative, Spreading Justice, is a vital resource in this effort. Through comprehensive documentation and profiling of violators, Spreading Justice provides critical information that supports coordinated actions by the international community.

HRA urges continued vigilance and coordinated pressure, alongside consultations with civil society, to uphold human rights and accountability.

A number of the targeted individuals have been extensively reviewed by HRA’s Spreading Justice. For more information on the sanctioned individuals, please visit the following profiles:

• • Ali Abdi: General Office of Prisons Organization in Khorasan Razavi Province
  • Ahmad Reza Azadeh: Head of Sepidar Prison
  • Mostafa Bazvand: Commander of the IRGC and Basij Resistance Force in Mazandaran province’s Babolsar county
  • Alireza Babaei Farsani: Director-General of Isfahan Province Prisons
  • Hamid Khorramdel: Commander of the IRGC’s Fatah Corps of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province
  • Gholamreza Roshan: Director General of Prisons in Khuzestan Province
  • Ali Jume Malek Shahkouie: Commander of the IRGC’s Golestan Corps of Golestan province

HRA continues to advocate for targeted human rights sanctions, including strategic coordinated efforts across jurisdictions, which are necessary to maximize the overall impact, reinforcing a united front against human rights violations.

This essential tool holds perpetrators accountable, deters potential violators, and upholds international human rights standards without harming innocent civilians.