KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iran executed at least 80 Afghan nationals in 2024, a threefold increase from the previous year, according to a joint statement by over 80 human rights organizations. The groups are urging the international community to take action to stop the executions.
The groups say only six of those executions were officially announced, with the rest carried out without public disclosure. In the first five months of 2025, at least 32 more Afghans have reportedly been executed in Iran.
The signatories, including Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the International Committee Against Execution (ICAE), said that many of the executions followed unfair trials and were based on confessions extracted under torture.
They also noted that Afghan defendants, often from poor and marginalized communities, are frequently denied access to legal support or consular services due to Afghanistan’s ongoing political crisis.
The organizations said anti-migrant sentiment in Iran has contributed to the rising number of executions and warned that more Afghans could face the death penalty if the international community remains silent.
Iran, which hosts one of the largest populations of Afghan migrants, has seen a sharp rise in executions of Afghan nationals since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. According to the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights, 16 Afghans were executed in 2022, 25 in 2023, and at least 80 in 2024.
Iranian authorities do not disclose details about the people they execute; however, rights groups say most Afghans were charged with murder or drug-related offenses.
Meanwhile, executions have also resumed in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have carried out at least ten executions for murder since returning to power.
