Fri Apr 04 20:31:00 UTC 2025: **Iran’s Executions Surge in First Quarter of 2025**
PARIS, April 5, 2025 – Iran carried out at least 230 executions in the first three months of 2025, more than double the number from the same period last year, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR). This represents a significant increase in the use of capital punishment, with the majority of executions stemming from murder and drug-related charges. Eight of the executed were women.
The IHR highlighted a sharp rise in executions in March alone, with 59 people put to death, including five women. One particularly tragic case involved 24-year-old Mahnaz Kakayi, who was hanged in Isfahan for killing her fiancé, a man her father had forced her to marry.
IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam expressed serious concerns that the escalating geopolitical tensions between Iran and the United States could further fuel the increase in executions, potentially targeting political prisoners. He warned of a heightened risk of more executions in the coming weeks.
The IHR reported that Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024, the highest number since the NGO began tracking executions in 2008. The number of women executed also reached a 17-year high in 2024, with 31 women hanged, many for killing abusive partners or forced spouses.
Human rights groups criticize Iran’s extensive use of the death penalty, claiming it’s employed to instill fear, particularly since the nationwide protests of 2022. Iran is widely considered to be the world’s most prolific executioner after China.
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