In its annual report on the implementation of capital punishment in 2025, Amnesty International announced that a total of 2,707 executions were recorded worldwide, representing an increase of 1,518 executions compared with 2024. However, this figure does not include executions in China, North Korea, and Vietnam, where reliable data remains unavailable.
According to Amnesty International’s report, while only 17 countries worldwide carried out executions in 2025, the Islamic Republic alone executed 2,159 individuals, accounting for approximately 80 percent of all recorded executions globally.
The number of executions carried out by the Islamic Republic in 2024 was reported at approximately 972 individuals, meaning the sharp increase in executions in 2025 significantly contributed to the global rise in execution figures.
Earlier, on April 21, Amnesty International, in its annual report on the human rights situation in Iran, had stated that the Islamic Republic used the 12-day war with Israel as a pretext to intensify domestic repression.
The report further stated that in 2025, the death penalty imposed by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary was “applied arbitrarily and used disproportionately against minorities, with the highest number of executions recorded since 1989,” referring to the mass execution of political prisoners during the summer of 1988.
In recent weeks, alongside a nationwide internet shutdown, the Islamic Republic accelerated its repression campaign, particularly executions. Since the outbreak of war involving the United States and Israel, the judiciary has executed at least 33 individuals, accusing them of participating in protests, membership in opposition groups, or “collaboration with the enemy.”
