KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Five citizens of Afghanistan were among 96 people executed in Iran in July, according to a Norway-based human rights organization, amid growing concerns over the country’s increasing use of the death penalty.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that the executions were carried out in multiple prisons across Iran. The group did not identify the Afghan nationals or specify the charges against them, but said most of those executed had been convicted of drug-related offenses.
Iranian authorities have not confirmed or commented on the report.
The group expressed concern over what it described as a “sharp rise” in executions in Iran. The number of executions in July was 74% higher than during the same period last year.
Executions of Afghan nationals in Iran have also increased in recent years. Iran Human Rights, another Norway-based group, recorded 16 executions in 2022, 25 in 2023, and more than 80 in 2024.
Meanwhile, the same practice has also resumed in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, with at least 10 people put to death for murder since the group returned to power in 2021.
The United Nations and rights organizations have condemned the use of capital punishment in both countries. Amnesty International has called for an immediate halt, saying the death penalty violates the right to life under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
