UN human rights experts denounce Iran’s unprecedented surge in executions, calling for urgent international action to stop the killings.
GENEVA, 29 September 2025 – United Nations human rights experts have expressed outrage over what they described as an “unprecedented execution spree” in Iran, warning that the scale of killings in 2025 represents a grave violation of international law.
According to the experts, at least 1,000 people have been executed since January 1, averaging more than nine hangings per day in recent weeks. They cautioned that the actual number is likely much higher due to the regime’s lack of transparency.
Executions on an “Industrial Scale”
“The sheer scale of executions in Iran is staggering and represents a grave violation of the right to life,” the UN experts said. “Iran appears to be conducting executions at an industrial scale that defies all accepted standards of human rights protection.”
Most of the executions were linked to drug-related charges and murder, followed by security-related accusations and rape. Among those executed were at least 58 Afghans, including one woman.
Particularly alarming, the experts noted, is the surge in drug-related executions. At least 499 people have been executed for such crimes this year—compared to just 24 to 30 per year between 2018 and 2020. This marks a sharp reversal from limited progress following the 2017 amendment to Iran’s Law on Combating Illicit Drugs, which had initially narrowed the scope of the mandatory death penalty.
International law restricts capital punishment to the “most serious crimes,” typically defined as intentional murder. The experts stressed that drug offenses fall far below this threshold.
Targeting the Vulnerable
The executions have disproportionately affected marginalized communities, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds already facing deep economic hardship. Families often see their limited assets, including homes and farmland, confiscated by the state.
The majority of trials are conducted in Revolutionary Courts behind closed doors, with little or no transparency, further violating international fair trial standards.
Executions on Espionage Charges
Iran has also executed 10 individuals on espionage charges, eight of them after mid-June. A newly introduced espionage bill has widened the definition of “espionage” to include contact with foreign or diaspora media outlets, posing a severe threat to journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens engaged in information sharing.
A Call for Immediate Action
The UN experts urged Iran to immediately establish a moratorium on all executions, provide full transparency on death sentences, and align its practices with international human rights law. They stressed that Iran should work toward the complete abolition of the death penalty.
With further amendments to the 2017 drug law currently under review by Iran’s parliament, the experts said Tehran has a “critical opportunity” to reverse the alarming trend of executions and end capital punishment for drug-related crimes.
“The international community cannot remain silent in the face of such systematic violations of the right to life,” the experts declared. “States must take concrete diplomatic action to pressure Iran to halt this execution spree.”
The Experts
The statement was issued by:
- Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran
- Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
- Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan
- Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
