Rights Group: 10 citizens of Afghanistan among dozens executed by Iran
A rights group reported Iran executed 99 prisoners in June, including 10 from Afghanistan, amid rising secret executions and international concern.
Iran carried out at least 99 executions in June 2025, according to a new report released by the human rights group Hengaw. Among those executed were 10 citizens from Afghanistan. The group emphasized that this marks a dramatic increase—nine times higher—compared to the same month last year.
The executions were reportedly carried out on charges ranging from political and religious offenses to murder, drug trafficking, rape, and armed robbery. Despite the high number, Iranian state media officially confirmed only 19 of these executions. Hengaw noted that at least 17 prisoners were executed secretly, without informing their families.
The report also revealed that 16 political prisoners were executed on charges of espionage for Israel—cases that rights groups frequently criticize as politically motivated and lacking fair trial standards. These executions highlight the ongoing use of capital punishment for state-defined “security threats.”
Two women were among those executed during this period—one in Qom and the other in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. One was sentenced to death for alleged involvement in a religious group, while the other faced charges of premeditated murder.
Previously, Hengaw reported that Iran executed at least 617 people, including 40 citizens of Afghanistan, in the first half of 2025 alone. This steady rise in capital punishment, especially in secret, has raised serious concerns among international human rights organizations.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and several UN Special Rapporteurs, have repeatedly condemned Iran’s use of the death penalty and its pattern of arbitrary arrests, systemic violence, and suppression of dissent. The current trajectory points to a worsening human rights crisis across the country.
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