Iran executed at least 166 people in October 2024, setting a record for the highest monthly execution toll since 2007, according to organisation Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO). The sharp rise in executions has occurred as tensions between Iran and Israel escalate, and amid increased government suppression following domestic unrest.
The IHR report, released on 2 November, said that October’s figures bring Iran’s total executions in 2024 to at least 651. Since the election of conservative leader Masoud Pezeshkian in August, the country has seen a marked increase in capital punishment, with 353 executions recorded over the past three months.
A breakdown of the data shows significant regional and ethnic disparities in execution rates. Alborz province led with 38 executions, followed by Fars with 16. East Azarbaijan and Isfahan each recorded 14, and five people were executed in Urmiyah, a region within Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat). Ethnically, the victims included 13 Afghan nationals, 11 Baloch, and 9 Kurds, and six of the victims were women from various regions across Iran.
Afghan nationals have faced a particularly severe crackdown since the resurgence of the Taliban, with 49 Afghans executed in the first 10 months of 2024. Added to this, two of October’s executions were conducted publicly, a fact indicative of Iran’s increased reliance on the death penalty as a tool of intimidation.
Two individuals were also hanged on 6 November, further escalating the death toll and bringing the total number of executions in the past two months to 168. Over the year, at least 811 people were executed between 10 October 2023 and 8 October 2024, marking an intensification of state repression following the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising.
Official figures indicate that executions in Iran occur approximately every five hours, with an estimated 27 prisoners hanged every six days. Iran accounts for 75% of all global executions, according to IHRNGO, which is joined by other human rights organisations in calling for an immediate moratorium. Political and civil rights activists, such as Warisheh Moradi, who recently initiated a hunger strike, continue to campaign against Iran’s capital punishment practices. Saudi Arabia follows Iran in the number of executions, having recorded 172 this year.
