The judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed at least 338 individuals across the country during the Nov 22 – Dec 21. This data reveals a staggering average of nearly 12 executions per day—approximately one every two hours over the past month.
In its latest monthly report on human rights violations in Iran, the human rights news agency HRANA reported on Monday, December 22, that it had documented 296 reports involving 338 executions, 21 death sentences issued, and six death sentences upheld during the Nov 22 – Dec 21.
According to the report, two of the executions were carried out in public. This follows a formal letter sent on August 25 by the Iranian Scientific Association of Psychiatrists to Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, warning of the extensive psychological consequences of public executions and demanding an immediate halt to the practice.
HRANA’s data highlights a sharp upward trend in capital punishment over recent years. Executions in the month of Azar have surged more than 11-fold, rising from at least 30 cases in 2019 to at least 338 in 2025. Due to the judiciary's lack of transparency and the clandestine nature of many executions, human rights organizations emphasize that these figures represent the absolute minimum, with many cases often documented months after the fact.
The report specifically mentioned the execution of Aghil Keshavarz on "espionage" charges, as well as death sentences issued against eight other political prisoners: Akbar Daneshvarkar, Mohammad Taghavi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amerian, Abolhassan Montazer, Karim Khojasteh, and Ramin Zeleh.
The relentless surge in death sentences and executions has drawn widespread international condemnation. On December 18, 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted its annual resolution on the human rights situation in Iran with 78 votes in favor. This followed a November 19 resolution by the UN Third Committee, which focused extensively on the rise in executions, women's rights, and the suppression of protesters.
Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, stated during an October 30 session that the Islamic Republic's escalation of executions is steering the country toward "crimes against humanity."
According to a previous HRANA report marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty, at least 1,537 individuals were executed in Iran between October 10, 2024, and October 7, 2025.
