KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iran has executed at least 46 Afghan nationals since January 2025, according to a human rights group, amid a sharp rise in the country’s use of the death penalty.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said in a new report that Iran has carried out at least 800 executions since the start of the year, averaging about 100 each month. Among those executed were 46 Afghan nationals, 22 women, and one child.
The report did not specify the charges against the Afghans executed this year. In past years, however, most were sentenced to death for drug-related crimes or murder.
Hengaw warned of what it described as a “tsunami-like surge” in executions across the country. The organization called on civil society groups, both inside Iran and internationally, to take a strong stance against the growing use of capital punishment.
Iranian authorities have not confirmed the numbers and did not respond to the report. The government rarely releases official data on executions, leaving human rights groups to track cases through independent sources.
Iran has long faced criticism for its heavy reliance on the death penalty, ranking among the world’s top executioners alongside China and Saudi Arabia. International organizations say Tehran disproportionately targets ethnic and religious minorities, as well as foreign nationals, in its judicial system. Hengaw reported that among the 800 executions since January, 116 were Kurds, 107 Lors, 92 Baluchis, and 82 Turks.
The executions of Afghans have steadily increased in Iran since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Norway-based Iran Human Rights reported 16 Afghan executions in 2022, 25 in 2023, and more than 80 in 2024. Rights groups say Afghans often face harsher sentencing, limited legal representation, and language barriers in Iranian courts.
The death penalty has also resumed in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. At least 10 people have been executed for murder since 2021.
The United Nations and rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the use of the death penalty in both countries. Amnesty International has called for an immediate halt, saying it violates the right to life under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
