UN human rights experts have said they are appalled by a dramatic escalation in the number of executions in Iran, with more than 1,000 people killed during the first nine months of 2025. The sheer scale of executions in Iran is staggering and represents a grave violation of the right to life, the five special rapporteurs warned in a joint statement.
They noted that half of the known executions were for drug-related offences and that nine hangings per day on average had been documented in recent weeks. There was no immediate comment from Iran, but the government has previously defended its use of the death penalty, saying it is limited to only the most severe crimes.
This alarming report coincides with the execution of a man accused of spying for Israel. The judiciary's Mizan news agency named him as Bahman Choubi Asl, stating he was a database expert who worked on sensitive telecommunications projects.
Last week, Amnesty International and the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights reported that over 1,000 executions have already surpassed last year's total of 975. They reported that 50% of those executed were accused of drug-related crimes, while 43% were murder convictions.
The UN experts called attention to the fact that Iran appears to be conducting executions at an industrial scale that defies all accepted standards of human rights protection. They stressed that international law restricts capital punishment only to the most serious crimes and called for the global community to take concrete diplomatic action to pressure Iran to halt these executions.
They noted that half of the known executions were for drug-related offences and that nine hangings per day on average had been documented in recent weeks. There was no immediate comment from Iran, but the government has previously defended its use of the death penalty, saying it is limited to only the most severe crimes.
This alarming report coincides with the execution of a man accused of spying for Israel. The judiciary's Mizan news agency named him as Bahman Choubi Asl, stating he was a database expert who worked on sensitive telecommunications projects.
Last week, Amnesty International and the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights reported that over 1,000 executions have already surpassed last year's total of 975. They reported that 50% of those executed were accused of drug-related crimes, while 43% were murder convictions.
The UN experts called attention to the fact that Iran appears to be conducting executions at an industrial scale that defies all accepted standards of human rights protection. They stressed that international law restricts capital punishment only to the most serious crimes and called for the global community to take concrete diplomatic action to pressure Iran to halt these executions.
