110 Executions Recorded in July; At Least 67 Protesters, Prisoners of Conscience and Espionage Defendants on Death Row

July 2025 Executions at a Glance:

-   At least 110 people were executed

-   Of those, only 8 (7%) were reported by official sources

-   59 (53%) of the executions were for drug-related offences

-   44 people (40%) were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder

-   2 political prisoners were secretly executed for the security-related charges of baghy (armed rebellion)

-   5 of those executed were on death row for rape charges

-   1 woman was executed for murder charges

-   9 Baluch (8%), 4 Kurdish and 3 Arab minorities were amongst those executed

-   7 Afghan nationals were executed

-   3 of the executions were carried out in public spaces 

At least 716 people were executed in the first seven months of 2025. Of those, 347 were on death row for drug-related offences, 310 were sentenced to qisas for murder, 35 were sentenced to death on security-related charges and 24 were on death row for rape. Only 55 (less than 8%) of the recorded executions were announced by official sources. 18 women, 47 Afghan nationals, an Iraqi national and a man only referred to as a “foreign national” were amongst those executed. Eight of those executed for security-related charges were accused of espionage for Israel and two political prisoners were executed for affiliation with banned opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Five of the executions were carried out in public spaces.

IHRNGO has compiled the names and details of 67 protesters, prisoners of conscience, Israel and blasphemy defendants.

In recent days, authorities attempted to transfer one of the espionage defendants, Babak Shahbazi, to Ghezelhesar Prison for execution. Their attempt was foiled by the resistance of his fellow prisoners, delaying his execution. However, Babak remains at great risk of execution.

Of the 67 death row prisoners, 20 are protesters (2 related to November 2019 and 18 “Woman, Life, Freedom” nationwide protests), 37 prisoners of conscience, 9 have been accused of espionage (8 for Israel and one for USA) and one for blasphemy.

A Baluch prisoner of conscience was reportedly under the age of 18 at the time of his arrest. However, IHRNGO has been unable to confirm his child offender status through document verification.

Notably, ethnic minorities are disproportionally represented in death row numbers. The list includes 13 Baluch, 12 Kurdish and 11 Arab minorities, and a dual and foreign national.

The most common charge is baghy which was used to issue death sentences against 54% of the defendants. Baghy, meaning armed rebellion or uprising against the Islamic state, was brought into law in Iran’s 2013 Islamic Penal Code and has since been widely used to issue death sentences in political cases.

Of the 67, the death sentences of 22 of the defendants have been upheld by the Supreme Court, putting them at higher risk compared to the others. 39 of the defendants have been sentenced to death and are awaiting Supreme Court decisions, and six others are awaiting retrials at courts of equal standing.

 Between 1 August 2024-1 August 2025, at least 32 protesters and prisoners of conscience were sentenced to death for the first time. Of those, 15 were protesters and 17 were political prisoners. And of the 17 political prisoners, 13 or 76% were accused of having links to the PMOI/MEK.

Furthermore, 58 people were convicted by Revolutionary Courts and Criminal Courts issued 10 of the sentences. It should be noted that one protester has a double jeopardy case and has been convicted by both courts.

The 67 death row prisoners are held in prisons in 10 provinces: 21 in Alborz/Tehran, 12 in Khuzestan, 9 in Western Azerbaijan, 8 in Sistan and Baluchistan, 4 in Gilan, 3 in Khorasan Razavi, 2 in Isfahan, 1 in Kurdish and 1 in Eastern Azerbaijan. The exact location of 6 espionage defendants is not known.

For more details and details of the cases, visit the “Death Row” section on our website.