Executed

This page keeps the memory of 7955 human beings who were executed by order of the courts of the Islamic Republic. The earliest execution recorded in this list dates back to 17 Farvardin 1388 and the latest to 23 Mehr 1405. This is the largest fate page in our list. Among these 7955 people are those who went to the gallows on charges of murder, drugs, security charges or a charge that was never announced; every charge that appears next to a name is the one stated by the authorities or sources, not our judgement. Many of them said until the last day that they were innocent, that they had confessed under torture or that they had no lawyer of their own choosing.

Years and days

Executions continued in every year of this list, but the year 1404 with 2129 executions is heavier than all other years; more than twice the year 1403, which has 795 executions. Before that, the years 1402 with 574, 1401 with 572, 1395 with 420 and 1393 with 390 executions were heavy. From 1405 so far, 375 executions have been recorded. The heaviest day in this list is 19 Mordad 1389 with 72 executions; it is followed by 11 Dey 1392 with 53, 29 Azar 1389 with 25, and 12 Azar and 26 Azar 1404 with 24 executions each.

Ages and places

The median age of those executed is 33 years and the oldest of them was 73 years old; the lowest age given in the data is 2 years, which is most likely a recording error in the source. 19 people in this list were under 18 years of age: children who were executed. There are also 821 women in this list whose source stated that they were women. Karaj with 951 executions is the most frequent city; it is followed by Urmia with 553, Zahedan with 416, Shiraz with 339, Isfahan with 287 and Mashhad with 234 executions. Alborz province with 890 and West Azerbaijan with 669 executions are at the top of the provinces.

Some lives

Kaveh (Khaled) Veysi, 32 years old, was an assistant in a clothing shop. In 1381 he had been admitted to study mathematics at the University of Kurdistan but could not go to university because of poverty. His child was born on the same night that he was arrested. The source recounts that he “was imprisoned for three months in a coffin-like room, always in a standing position, and could not even sit.” He himself had said: “My sentence was issued by the intelligence service, and in the Sanandaj detention centre they told me the death sentence, and hiring a lawyer makes no difference.” Kaveh was executed on 12 Mordad 1395 together with 24 others in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj.

Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old wrestler who in Shahrivar 1403 had won a bronze medal wearing the singlet of the national freestyle wrestling team, was executed on 28 Esfand 1404 in Qom. The court did not accept the lawyers he had chosen and did not summon his witnesses. Safiyeh Ghafouri, 28 years old, knew the poems of Ahmad Shamlou by heart and read The Little Prince; she was executed on 22 Tir 1391 in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. An hour before the execution, her friends told her lawyer: “Do whatever you can for her.” Bahram Ahmadi, a 20-year-old student who wished to visit lonely elderly people, was secretly executed on 7 Dey 1391 in Ghezel Hesar Prison.

This list is not complete

The real number of people executed in these years is higher than 7955. Many executions were carried out in secret or were reported only through a report without a name, and we record only a name for which we have found a source. The largest share comes from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 3512 cases; followed by the Iran Human Rights Society with 3233, HRANA with 1732, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network with 1194 and Haalvsh with 743 cases. For every execution listed here there is at least one source, and some of these executions were reported by only one source. For 936 executed people a description of their life is available. If you knew one of those executed, send us your memory, a photo or your correction.