Source: Amnesty International –
The public execution of two protesters today, following the arbitrary execution of at least three other protesters last week, marks a further escalation in the authorities’ use of the death penalty to quash dissent, Amnesty International said. The organization fears that at least 60 others, including three arrested as children, remain at risk of execution after being sentenced to death, while many others are facing prosecution on capital charges in relation to the protests.
In the first half of 2026, Iranian authorities have increasingly used broadly worded national security charges, including espionage and collaboration with hostile states, to convict and sentence to death individuals arrested in the context of the January 2026 protests. Since the beginning of the year, they have arbitrarily executed at least 26 people convicted of offences in connection with the January 2026 protests, following torture-tainted grossly unfair trials by Revolutionary Courts. Beyond those targeted in the context of the protests, the authorities have arbitrarily executed at least 26 other individuals on politically motivated charges, while continuing to carry out hundreds of executions for drug-related offences and other crimes.
The Iranian authorities are unleashing a horrifying wave of executions and death sentences to punish and suppress dissent and project an image of strength and absolute control in the wake of the January popular uprising and amid ongoing attacks by US and Israeli forces.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International.
“The Iranian authorities are unleashing a horrifying wave of executions and death sentences to punish and suppress dissent and project an image of strength and absolute control in the wake of the January popular uprising and amid ongoing attacks by US and Israeli forces,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“The muted response from the international community emboldens the Iranian authorities to continue their deadly rampage. UN member states must take urgent coordinated diplomatic action to press the Iranian authorities to halt further executions. They must place Iran’s human rights and impunity crisis high on their agenda, support the creation of an independent international justice mechanism for Iran and urge the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court.”
Amnesty International spoke with 10 informed sources, including victims’ families outside Iran and lawyers inside Iran. The organization also reviewed official statements from the Iranian authorities, as well as reports from state media and reports by human rights organizations based outside Iran.
In the cases documented, those arbitrarily executed or sentenced to death were convicted of overly broad and vague charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz). Among them are individuals executed for alleged involvement in arson, property damage, road blockages or disrupting public order – acts that do not meet the threshold under international law and standards for the application of the death penalty, which restricts its use to the “most serious crimes” involving intentional killing.
Some others have been prosecuted under the Law on Intensifying the Punishment for Espionage and Collaboration with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States (Espionage Law), which was enacted in the aftermath of the 12-day war in June 2026. The law criminalizes acts protected under international human rights law such as peaceful participation in protests and sharing information with media organizations.
Given that thousands were arrested in the context of the January 2026 protests and relatives often refrain from publicly reporting death sentences fearing reprisals, Amnesty International believes that many more protesters may be at risk of the death penalty.