International Mechanism Submissions

This report addresses Iran’s failure to comply with its international human rights obligations with respect to the death penalty, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, conditions of detention, and administration of justice.

Since its 2019 Universal Periodic Review, Iran has not abolished the death penalty or implemented a moratorium on executions, nor has it limited the application of the death penalty to the most serious crimes. Iran did not accept any of recommendations related to the death penalty. As this report details, Iran has increased the frequency of executions over the last five years, including executing a staggering 834 individuals in 2023—while this actual number is likely much higher—and that figure represents a 43% increase in executions since 2022, a year that witnessed 582 executions.

The coauthors compiled this report using information from both official and unofficial sources. Official executions are those announced by the Iranian judiciary, police, National Broadcasting Network, or news agencies. They were 15% of the executions that Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and ECPM reported in their 2023 Annual Report, with the remaining 85% being unofficial. In 2022, only 12% of documented executions were official. Unofficial reports come from eyewitnesses, family members, lawyers, and others in the Iranian judiciary and prison system.