Iran Executed at Least 853 People in 2023

At least 853 people were executed in Iran in 2023, according to a report by human rights advocacy group Amnesty International. This is up 170 percent from 2021, when at least 314 people were killed, and marks the highest number of deaths recorded in eight years. These figures are likely low estimates due to the Iranian authorities not publishing such data publicly.

According to Amnesty, the death penalty has historically been used as a tool to exert control over the population, stating that the uptick in executions since the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising of 2022, is “consistent with previously recorded patterns in Iran following periods of unrest and political dissent.” 

While over half of the executions in 2023 were carried out for drug-related offenses, with members of the oppressed Baluchi ethnic minority disproportionately impacted, the report states that nine people have also been executed in direct connection to the 2022 protests. Amnesty reports that a further eight individuals are under sentence of death in relation to the uprising. 

According to another source, Iran Human Rights, at least 402 people have been executed in Iran in 2024 so far, with at least 100 recorded deaths in August alone. The group says that 50 of these were under charges of murder and 46 executions for drugs, with numbers having seen hikes after the presidential elections.