Breathing in Confinement

Statistical Report on Human Rights Violations in Iran from 20 July to 20 August

4-September-2025

Category: executions، Hunger Strike of Political Prisoners، Prisoners، protesters، religious minorities، Repression، Women

1 September 2025
News group: Freedom of Expression – Protests – Political Prisoners’ Hunger Strikes – Executions – Religious Minorities – Women – Prisoners – Repression –

Breathing in Confinement 

Human Rights Violations in Iran in the Past Month (20 July – 20 August 2025)
Monthly Report on Human Rights Violations

• Executions: At least 172 prisoners executed, including 3 public executions and 5 women.
• Death Sentences: Death sentences issued for 14 prisoners, including 3 political prisoners; the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences of 3 other prisoners.
• Arrests and Prison Deaths: At least 70 citizens arrested; 1 prisoner killed under torture; 3 prisoners died due to deliberate denial of medical care in prison.
• Inhumane Punishments: Amputation of four fingers of the right hand for 3 defendants; flogging sentences issued for 8 defendants.
• Sentences Against Political and Religious Prisoners: Prison and fines issued against 42 political and ideological defendants, totalling 169 years, 5 months, and 4 days of imprisonment.
• Fine equals to a total of 1,519,700,000 tomans.
• Transfer for Execution: At least 3 political prisoners transferred for imminent execution.
• Workers’ Rights: 41 workers killed and at least 59 injured in workplace accidents; at least 215 workers dismissed.
• Women’s Rights: 13 cases of violence and killings against women documented.
• Protests and Civic Actions: More than 450 protests, marches, and demonstrations held by different sectors of society.
• Prisoners’ Campaign: Continuation of the weekly hunger strike campaign by political prisoners, known as “Tuesdays Against Execution”, in 49 prisons during the eighty-second consecutive week of protest against executions.
• Families of Political Prisoners: Continued protests against death sentences.
• Retirees and other groups in society: Ongoing protests and demonstrations.

 

Introduction

Over the past month, a widespread wave of human rights violations has been recorded in Iran. This report, based on documented data, analyses executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, prisoner deaths, flogging sentences, amputations, and other repressive measures carried out across the country.

According to statistics collected by the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, in the past month alone at least 172 executions were carried out, including political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and those accused of security-related offences. At the same time, mass arrests, pressure on civil and labour activists, and restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have continued.

By providing statistical analysis and comparison with figures from previous months and years, the report shows that the Islamic Republic continues to use judicial and security violence as tools to suppress society. This underscores the urgent need for international action to protect the lives and dignity of Iranian citizens.

The month of August also recalls the beginning of the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners, which Amnesty International has described as a “continuing crime against humanity.” Reviewing the current executions — with at least 172 prisoners executed in the past month — further highlights the necessity of holding accountable those officials responsible for more than 47 years of mass executions.

This report provides a stark picture of the escalating dimensions of human rights violations in Iran: widespread executions, implementation of inhumane punishments such as flogging and amputation, and a rise in arbitrary arrests all reveal a systematic policy of intimidation and elimination of dissent. The deaths of prisoners under torture or through deliberate denial of medical care, alongside violent attacks on political prisoners’ wards, expose the depth of structural violence inside Iranian prisons.

Despite this repression, the continuation of street protests, labour strikes, and campaigns such as “Tuesdays Against Execution” demonstrates that Iranian society continues to resist policies of elimination and intimidation, and to struggle for freedom, justice, and human dignity.

The Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, expressing profound concern over these developments, calls on the international community and human rights organisations to take immediate and effective action to protect lives and confront the wave of repression and executions.

 

Comprehensive Analysis of Executions

Overall Statistics

• April: 86 executions
• May: 168 executions
• June: 139 executions
• July: 83 executions
• August: 172 executions

According to data published by the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, in the past month alone, at least 172 individuals were executed in various prisons across the country. The composition of these executions demonstrates the wide range of charges: 2 political prisoners, 1 prisoner of conscience, 1 accused of espionage, 1 accused of “corruption on earth,” 1 accused of “enmity against God” through armed robbery, 91 prisoners in drug-related cases, 72 accused of murder, 1 convicted of rape, and 2 prisoners whose charges were not officially announced.

Among those executed were two political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo and Mehdi Hassani, hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison on charges of rebellion, enmity against God, and membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Also executed were Mehdi Asgharzadeh, a Sunni prisoner of conscience convicted of membership in ISIS, and Roozbeh Vadi, a nuclear scientist and researcher at the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, executed on espionage charges.

A review of the overall trend shows that from 20 March 2025 to 20 July 2025, the number of executions reached at least 660. Compared with the same period last year — when 324 executions were recorded — this represents an unprecedented increase of nearly 102%.

Another significant point is that the number of public executions in just the first five months of the current Persian year already equals the total number of public executions in the entire previous year. This sharp surge clearly illustrates that the government uses execution not as a fair judicial process, but as a tool to manage political and social crises and to spread fear. Public displays of execution are deliberately employed for deterrent and intimidating purposes. In the current unstable context, this strategy has become a central instrument for controlling a society that now appears more likely than ever to slip beyond the regime’s control.

The chart below illustrates the changes in the number of executions over the first five months of the current Persian year.

 

 

Analysis by Type of Charges

 

A review of data from the past month shows that among the 172 documented executions, only 7 cases were officially announced by state media, while 165 cases were verified and reported through prisoners’ families, independent journalists, and human rights organisations. This stark discrepancy reflects a long-standing and systematic policy of secrecy in reporting executions — a policy designed to prevent public awareness, social reaction, and international pressure.

Public executions continue to be used as a tool to instil fear in society. In the past month, 3 prisoners were hanged in public: one in Damghan on a charge of murder, Sajjadeh Molaei Hirkani in Beyram, Larestan, and Taghi Damghani in Kordkuy, Golestan Province. Such spectacles are a blatant violation of human dignity and contravene international standards, which consider public executions a form of torture and inhuman punishment.

Among those executed were also 5 women. This not only underscores the continuation of capital punishment against women, but also highlights the structural weakness of Iran’s judicial system in safeguarding women’s rights, and their heightened vulnerability to discrimination, violence, and legal inequality.

Particularly alarming is the execution of at least 23 prisoners from ethnic minorities — including 7 Baluch prisoners and 16 Kurdish prisoners. In many of these cases, reports indicate unfair trials, torture to extract forced confessions, and death sentences issued on the basis of vague or unsubstantiated “security” allegations. This pattern reflects not only systematic discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, but also the use of execution as a means of controlling and repressing marginalised populations, who are disproportionately subjected to injustice.

Thus, the statistical and qualitative breakdown of executions over the past month presents a disturbing picture of the multifaceted dimensions of human rights violations in Iran. These include systematic concealment, the instrumental use of public executions as displays of power, the continued imposition of death sentences on women, and the harsh repression of ethnic minorities. Together, these trends clearly demonstrate that in the current crisis-ridden and unstable context, the Islamic Republic has made execution a central pillar of its security policy and a tool to control society.

 

Executions by Charges 

 

Execution Analysis

Comparison with Previous Year
According to data from the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, in August 2024, a total of 128 executions were recorded. This August, the number rose to at least 172, representing a sharp increase compared with the same period last year. This escalation must be regarded as a serious indication of the regime’s intensified reliance on the death penalty — an action that violates Iran’s international obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to life, and the prohibition of cruel and inhuman punishment. This unprecedented surge demonstrates that the Islamic Republic not only disregards the global call for a reduction in executions but, on the contrary, has transformed executions into a tool for managing political and social crises and imposing organised intimidation. The continuation of this pattern raises fundamental concerns about the independence of the judiciary, respect for fair trial rights, and Iran’s commitment to human rights standards.

 

Executions from 20 March to 20 August 2025

Gender and Age

• April: 5 women executed
• May: 7 women executed
• June: 4 women executed
• July: 1 woman executed
• August: 5 women executed

According to the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, at least 5 women were executed in Iranian prisons last month. This figure represents nearly one quarter of all women executed since 20 March 2025, underscoring that women remain at serious risk of capital punishment. Most of these women were sentenced for murder or drug-related offences, and were deprived of fundamental fair trial rights, including access to independent lawyers, effective defence, and impartial examination of evidence. Testimonies and available documentation show that judicial proceedings in many of these cases involved blatant violations of international standards.

Among the women executed last month were:

• Mahtab Bayati and Nahid Jokar (52), executed on drug-related charges in Mashhad and Shiraz prisons (30 and 31 July).
• One woman of unknown identity and charges, executed in Khorramabad Prison (3 August).
• Soudabeh Ghasemzadeh (45), executed for murder in Dastgerd Prison, Isfahan (11 August).
• Mahsa Akbari, executed in Adelabad Prison, Shiraz (20 August).

 

Political Prisoners Executed

• April 2025: Malek Malek Ali Fadaei Nasab, Farhad Shakeri, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, Taj Mohammad Khormal, Ali Dehani.
• May 2025: Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou (secretly in Urmia Prison), Rostam Zein al-Dini (Haji Gol) in Zahedan Prison.
• June 2025: Mojahid Korkor (Abbas Korkouri), one of the detainees of the 2022 uprising.
• July 2025: Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh (23), whose case was still under retrial; Edris Ali, 33-year-old Kurdish kolbar (cross-border porter), executed on espionage charges; Azad Shojaei (45), also a kolbar, executed on espionage charges; Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, a Kurdish Iraqi citizen from Sulaymaniyah.
• August 2025: Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo and Mehdi Hassani, executed for rebellion, enmity against God, and membership in the PMOI/MEK; Mehdi Asgharzadeh, a Sunni prisoner of conscience, executed on charges of ISIS membership; Roozbeh Vadi, a nuclear scientist and researcher at the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, executed on espionage charges.

 

Government Secrecy

Among the 172 executions in August, only 7 were publicly announced by official media. The remaining 165 were documented by families, independent journalists, and human rights organisations. This highlights the systematic concealment policy designed to prevent public sensitivity, social reaction, and international scrutiny.

 

 

Public Executions
Three prisoners were executed in public last month:

• One man in Damghan (murder charge),
• Sajjadeh Molaei Hirkani in Beyram, Larestan,
• Taghi Damghani in Kordkuy, Golestan Province.

Such spectacles constitute a flagrant violation of human dignity and contravene international standards, which consider public executions a form of torture and inhuman punishment.

 

Islamic Republic of Iran and Systematic Violation of International Standards

Despite much of the world moving towards restricting or abolishing the death penalty, Iran remains the second highest executioner in the world, systematically ignoring fundamental human rights principles.

• ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights): protects the right to life, prohibits torture, and guarantees fair trial.
• Convention on the Rights of the Child: explicitly prohibits executions for offences committed under the age of 18 (regularly violated by Iran).
• CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women): Iran is not a signatory, but its discriminatory laws and practices exacerbate structural violence against women.
• UN Safeguards for the Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty: require that capital punishment be restricted to the “most serious crimes” and applied only after full and fair trials — conditions rarely met in Iran.

 

Death Sentences and Flogging Orders

In the past month, Iran’s judiciary issued at least 14 new death sentences, and the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences of 3 additional prisoners. These included: 3 political prisoners, 10 accused of murder, 1 accused of sexual assault, 1 accused of espionage, and 1 accused of economic offences.

Political Prisoners Facing Death Sentences:

• Yaghoub Derakhshan in Rasht, sentenced to death on charges of rebellion and support for the PMOI by a Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Ahmad Darvish Goftar.
• Farhad Baranzahi and Emran Aghal in Zahedan Prison, sentenced to death for alleged membership in the armed group Jaish al-Adl.

Espionage and Supreme Court Confirmation:

• Babak Shahbazi, convicted of espionage for Israel and alleged ties with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had his death sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court.

 

Issuance of Flogging Sentences – A Tool of Humiliation and Legalised Torture

In addition to the wave of death sentences, last month 8 prisoners and defendants were collectively sentenced to more than 500 lashes.

• Amirali Zakerifard and Emad Zakerifard in Ilam were sentenced to 144 lashes on charges of anti-regime propaganda, insulting the Supreme Leader, and spreading falsehoods.
• Abolfazl Khorran, a teachers’ union activist in Arak Prison, was sentenced to 74 lashes on charges of disturbing prison order.
• Kianoush Cheraghi received a sentence of 40 lashes for insulting officials and spreading falsehoods online.
• Abolfazl Lalbahador, a journalist from Sabzevar, was sentenced to 90 lashes for criticising the municipality and addressing social issues.
• In two other cases, two defendants convicted of murder and robbery were each sentenced to 74 lashes.
• Abdolreza Davari was sentenced to flogging on charges of spreading falsehoods, but the exact number of lashes was not announced.

Flogging remains enshrined in the laws of the Islamic Republic as a tool of official torture and humiliation of prisoners. Yet, under international treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture, such punishments are explicitly prohibited.

The continued issuance of such sentences, alongside the expansion of death penalties, demonstrates a systematic pattern of repression by the judiciary — one that targets not only political prisoners, but also civil activists, journalists, and even teachers. This practice once again highlights the unjust, inhumane, and repressive nature of Iran’s judicial system, and underlines the urgent need for stronger international responses to halt this cycle of violence and human rights violations.

 

Wave of Arrests

In the past month, the security agencies of the Islamic Republic launched a new wave of repression through mass arrests. According to documented reports, at least 76 citizens were arrested solely for political and religious activities or for expressing personal views on social media.

Those arrested came from a broad spectrum of social and civic groups, including:

• Former political prisoners, still under pressure and threats despite years of imprisonment.
• Families of victims seeking truth and justice for their loved ones.
• Political, civil, and media activists, as well as social media users.
• Lawyers acting independently to defend the rights of defendants.
• Artists using their work for civil and social protest.
• Sunni and Shia clerics, targeted for critical views or their religious beliefs.

This wave of arrests demonstrates the continuation of a systematic policy of suppressing freedom of expression and thought in Iran — a policy that not only violates Articles 19 and 23 of the Iranian Constitution, but also contravenes Iran’s international obligations regarding civil and political rights.

 

Events Inside Prisons – Intensified Pressure on Political Prisoners and Human Rights Violations

Last month, as part of the ongoing repression of political prisoners, on the morning of Sunday, 27 July 2025, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, accompanied by more than 100 armed special guard forces, stormed Ward 4 of Ghezel Hesar Prison under the orders of prison officials. According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, the raid was commanded by Allahkaram Azizi, the prison director, along with his deputy Hassan Ghobadi. During the raid, political prisoners were brutally beaten and their personal belongings destroyed — a blatant violation of human rights and the fundamental rights of prisoners.

 

Implementation of Amputation Sentences

In an inhumane act violating human dignity, on Thursday, 31 July, the sentences of amputating four fingers of the right hand of three prisoners — Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharafian, and Mehdi Shahivand — were carried out in Urmia Central Prison. Such punishments not only breach international human rights law and treaties prohibiting torture and inhuman treatment, but also exemplify the regime’s ongoing reliance on violence and intimidation.

 

Deaths of Prisoners

In the past month, at least four prisoners died in various prisons across the country. Reza Seraqi, a political prisoner, was killed under torture in the Intelligence Department of Tehran. Mohammadreza Jalal died in Ghezel Hesar Prison from a stroke and lack of medical care. Mohammad Azish died by suicide in Rasht Prison; the absence of psychological services, the pressures of trial, and threats of a death sentence were among the contributing factors in his case. Meysam Pour Rezaei died in Ghezel Hesar Prison due to cardiac arrest and delay in transfer to a medical facility.

These incidents show that the Islamic Republic, through physical violence, medical deprivation, and psychological pressure, puts political prisoners at serious risk. Such policies not only constitute a flagrant violation of the right to life and prohibitions against torture and inhuman treatment, but also amount to the abuse of judicial and security powers for the suppression of dissent.

 

Judicial Sentences and Enforcement of Rulings

In the past month, judicial rulings were issued in 42 cases related to political and religious defendants. The total prison sentences amounted to 164 years, 5 months, and 4 days. The total fines imposed were equivalent to 1,519,700,000 tomans.

In addition, 3 political convicts were arrested for enforcement of their sentences. Those convicted included political activists, labour activists, lawyers, artists, writers, Sunni and Shia clerics, and social media users.

 

Workplace Incidents

Due to lack of safety measures, in the past month:

• 41 workers died while at work.
• 59 workers were injured.

The main causes of these incidents were lack of standard national equipment, inadequate training and supervision, and employer negligence.

According to the Deputy Minister of Health, around 10,000 people die in Iran annually due to workplace accidents. Official statistics record more than 2,000 deaths annually. These figures do not include the deaths of informal workers, kolbars (cross-border porters), and fuel carriers.

 

Dismissals of Workers

In July, at least 215 workers were dismissed:

• Razi Petrochemical Company dismissed an unspecified number of workers for participating in protest gatherings and raising demands such as equal pay and opposition to low wages.
• Siyadan Abhar Steel Factory – 50 dismissals.
• Amouzan Zāhedan Steel Company – 70 dismissals.
• Omran Abshar Espadana Company – 5 dismissals.
• Iran Industrial Projects Management Company at Phase 14 of South Pars – 90 dismissals.

 

Violence Against Women

In the past month, 13 women were killed. Most victims were murdered by relatives due to family disputes rooted in economic and cultural poverty and the absence of protective and supervisory systems.

 

Protests and Strikes

Despite intense security conditions, in the past month, more than 450 protests and demonstrations were held across the country.

The Tuesdays Against Execution campaign reached its 82nd week. Within this framework, political prisoners in 49 prisons went on hunger strike, while their families staged protest gatherings on Tuesdays. Hunger strikes took place in prisons such as Evin, Ghezel Hesar, Urmia, Ahvaz, Tabriz, Sanandaj, Boukan, Yasuj, and others.

Social Security retirees, telecommunications retirees, and other groups also protested against low pensions, discrimination, worsening living conditions, poverty, inflation, and rising prices. They raised justice-seeking slogans demanding fulfilment of their rights and restoration of their stolen entitlements.

Workers in the oil and gas industries in dozens of regions across the country staged protests against non-payment of wages, discrimination in pay, and violations of their labour rights. Their main demands included: full implementation of operational zone allowances, removal of the salary ceiling, payment of full end-of-service benefits, cancellation of unlawful pension deductions, return of illegally deducted taxes, and full implementation of Article 10 of the Ministry of Oil Duties and Powers Act.

In addition, various groups — including workers, employees, defrauded investors, farmers, nurses, bakers, and drivers — repeatedly staged protests over government neglect of their demands and failure to resolve fundamental problems.

 

Conclusion

What occurred in Iran’s prisons and courts in the past month is a clear example of the Islamic Republic’s violation of its binding international obligations under treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and customary human rights law.

In this month alone, at least 172 people were executed across the country — a figure reflecting the intensifying use of this punishment in a short period. A simple calculation shows that in the past month, on average, around 5 executions took place per day, equal to one execution roughly every 4 hours. This is not only indicative of the high rate of executions, but also of a systematic policy of repression and intimidation, particularly targeting political and religious prisoners and those deprived of fair trials.

The widespread and systematic use of executions, together with public hangings, flogging sentences, and amputations, are clear instances of torture and cruel, degrading punishments that deny human dignity.

In addition, arbitrary arrests, pressure on justice-seeking families, and restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly constitute blatant violations of fundamental rights enshrined in international treaties and human rights law.

In this context, the international community is obliged to act through legal and diplomatic mechanisms — including the formation of independent fact-finding missions, the imposition of targeted sanctions against responsible officials and institutions, and the referral of cases involving accountable authorities to international courts.