The Iranian authorities have executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, a record since 1989, according to two NGOs, who are calling on Westerners to include the issue of capital punishment in negotiations with Tehran.
In January, before the war broke out, the American president had promised to help the demonstrators and to demand strong political measures in Tehran, but he no longer raised the subject.
The number of executions has already increased by 68% last year compared to 2024 (975 people killed, including 48 women), according to the joint annual report from the Norwegian organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) and “Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), based in Paris.
If the Islamic Republic "survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression," their report warns.
The IHR - which requires two sources to confirm executions, most of which are not reported by the official Iranian media - considers that the estimate retained represents a "minimum". The figure represents more than four executions per day.
- “Sowing fear” -
According to the document, the number of executions is a record since the IHR began its census in 2008, and the highest ever reported since 1989.
NGOs warn that "hundreds of detained protesters still risk the death penalty and execution" after taking part in January rallies against the authorities.
The movement was bloodily repressed, with human rights organizations reporting thousands of deaths and the arrest of tens of thousands of people.
“By sowing fear, by carrying out an average of four to five executions per day in 2025, the authorities tried to prevent new demonstrations” after those of 2022 and 2023, analyzes Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the IHR.
Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, general director of ECPM, believes the abolition of the death penalty must be "at the heart" of negotiations on the end of the conflict between Iran and the United States, currently subject to a ceasefire.
“Be firm, put the death penalty in all agreements,” he demanded during a press conference in Paris.
The director of the IHR, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, for his part deplored the absence of "mention of the rights of the Iranian people" in the Islamabad negotiations over the weekend. He called for a moratorium on executions and the release of political prisoners to be "the number one demand" of future discussions.
- Tool against minorities -
Since the Israeli-American attacks on February 28, Iran has hanged seven people in connection with the January protests.
"The death penalty is used as a political tool of oppression" against ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups", who are overrepresented
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