GNV News 2025–2–23

According to a report jointly released in 2025 by the Iranian human rights organization (IHRNGO) and the anti-death penalty organization (ECPM), in 2024 the number of executions in Iran rose by 17% from the previous year’s 834 to at least 975, the highest in the past 17 years. The number of women executed also reached 31, likewise the highest in the past 17 years.

Globally, the majority of countries have abolished the death penalty, and the adoption of the death penalty is on a downward trend. The application of the death penalty to juvenile offenders is strictly prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a party. However, according to the same report, in 2024 in Iran, 52% of executions were carried out for drug-related offenses, exceeding those for murder, which is considered the most serious crime. It also states that at least 1 minor was executed.

Furthermore, the Iranian government officially announced only 95 executions in 2024, a sharp decrease from 2023, when about 15% of executions were disclosed. In addition, 534 of the total were based on death sentences issued by the Revolutionary Courts, but concerns remain about the transparency of this judicial system. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has pointed out that the death penalty is “a central tool of political repression and crackdown” and emphasized the need to curb the escalating number of executions.

 Learn about global trends in the death penalty → “The Death Penalty Worldwide”

Learn more about the challenges facing Iran’s regime → “Iran’s Government Facing a Crisis”

Photo: World Day Against the Death Penalty, conference in Paris (2023) Maryam Rajavi / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]