Since the start of the year, over 800 executions have occurred in Iran, the UN reported on Friday, highlighting “a systematic use of the death penalty for state intimidation.”
The UN rights office noted a “significant rise in executions in the first half of 2025.”
“Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people from January to August 28, 2025,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva, cautioning that “the actual numbers could be higher due to lack of transparency.”
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In July alone, at least 110 individuals were executed in Iran, doubling the number from July 2024.
“The large number of executions suggests a systematic use of the death penalty for state intimidation, disproportionately affecting ethnic minorities and migrants,” she warned.
Shamdasani expressed concern over public executions in Iran, with seven such cases documented this year.
“Public executions severely violate human dignity, affecting not only those executed but also the witnesses,” she said.
“The psychological impact of witnessing a public execution, especially on children, is unacceptable.”
Shamdasani stated that 11 individuals face “imminent execution” in Iran, including six accused of “armed rebellion” linked to the exiled opposition People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK).
The other five were sentenced to death for their involvement in major 2022 protests, with Iran’s supreme court recently upholding the death sentence against workers’ rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi.
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and human dignity,” she maintained.
“It poses an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people and should not be used for actions protected under international human rights law.”
The UN rights office urges Iran to “refrain from executing these individuals and others on death row,” Shamdasani stated.
