Iran already had one of the highest rates of capital punishment in the world. Now, rights groups say, the country is using the current conflict to carry out even more executions in an attempt to repress dissent.
Soheil Arabi, a photoblogger recently released from Ghezel Hesar prison, recounted: "Several young men born in the second half of the 2000s are sitting beside me. They are under 20. They keep moving their necks up and down and from side to side. I ask them what they are doing. They say: 'We are preparing our necks for the hangman's noose.'"
Since the US and Israeli regimes attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, the world has focused on the war, Iran's nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and the future balance of power in the Middle East. But inside the country, rights groups fear an increasingly deadly wave of repression fueled by the ongoing war.
According to Amnesty International, Iran accounted for 80% of a global surge in executions during 2025, executing at least 2,159 people—more than double its 2024 figure.
For nearly half a century, the Iranian government has used the death penalty to suppress political opposition. Reports from Iranian opposition groups indicate at least 40 people have been executed in political and security-related cases since the war began, with 78 others on death row.
Among those executed: Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, 34, a former martial arts champion accused of working for Israel, was hanged without seeing his family. Dual Swedish-Iranian national Kourosh Keyvani was arrested in 2025 and hanged in March 2026.
Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 68-year-old woman, was sentenced to death for "armed rebellion" after a 10-minute trial without an independent lawyer. Her verdict was overturned but she was found guilty again in late May.
Amnesty International researcher Raha Bahreini told DW: "Documented patterns of killings, torture, enforced disappearances, mass arrests and political executions could amount to crimes against humanity if established as organized state policy." She warned the crackdown's intensity is unprecedented.
Amnesty documented torture methods including mock executions, simulated hangings, placing guns in prisoners' mouths, severe beatings, suspension by limbs, prolonged solitary confinement, and deprivation of food and medical care.
Over 6,000 people have been arrested since the war began, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, artists, students, teachers, ethnic and religious minorities, and dual nationals.
"Espionage" is a principal charge in the recent wave of prosecutions. Observers argue authorities are using the death penalty to raise the cost of dissent and reinforce deterrence amid the war's political and social consequences.
At least five people aged 18-21 have been executed or sentenced to death. In late April, 17-year-old Matin Mohammadi appeared on execution lists.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, founder of Iran Human Rights, said: "With restrictions on reporting and reduced prison oversight, concerns about prisoners, especially teenagers, are extremely serious. The authorities want to intimidate a generation that protested in recent years into never returning to the streets."
Bahreini outlined three legal avenues to hold Iranian officials accountable: UN Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court, universal jurisdiction prosecutions, and a dedicated international justice mechanism for Iran. She urged international governments to raise the costs of violations, noting that continued silence contributes to impunity.
Amiry-Moghaddam concluded: "Placing executions and human rights violations at the center of any negotiations with the Islamic Republic is one of the few ways to restrain Iran's execution machine." The war has provided Iran a "political opportunity" to sharply increase executions by lowering the political cost of repression. If the international community remains passive, near-daily executions may follow.
Source: www.dw.com