Hangings have become a daily occurrence in Iran since Monday. In a context of war, the regime intensifies the use of capital punishment to quell all dissent. Opponents and participants in the January demonstrations regularly find themselves accused of espionage.

Published on: 04/22/2026 - 6:05 p.m.

At dawn, every morning, the same scene repeats itself in Iranian prisons. Since Monday, at least one man has been hanged every day. A chilling pace which illustrates, according to NGOs and experts, a meteoric acceleration in the use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic since the start of the war between the United States, Israel and Iran on February 28.

On Wednesday, authorities announced the execution of Mehdi Farid, 55, convicted of links to Mossad. A former employee of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, he was arrested in 2023.

The day before, another man, Amirali Mirjafari, was hanged, accused of having collaborated with Israel and the United States, and of having tried to burn down a mosque in Tehran during the January protests. On Monday, two other convicts, presented as members of a spy network, were executed at dawn.

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“We are seeing an acceleration in political executions due to the war,” analyzes Azadeh Kian, professor emeritus of sociology at Paris Cité University. Since the outbreak of the conflict, at least 14 political prisoners have been executed.

According to the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), Amirali Mirjafari, hanged at dawn on Tuesday, is the eighth prisoner executed in connection with the anti-government demonstrations in January, following speedy trials.

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“Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi and Mehdi Ghasemi were hanged at Qom central prison on March 19, Amirhossein Hatami at Ghezel Hesar prison on April 2. His co-accused, Mohammad-Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast, were also executed at Ghezel Hesar prison on April 5, and Ali Fahim was hanged there on April 6,” lists IHR, based in Norway.

For human rights organizations, these cases are less about espionage than political repression. “The Islamic Republic continues to present internal civil unrest as espionage to accelerate the execution of demonstrators,” denounces IHR. For her part, researcher Azadeh Kian discusses hasty trials, often conducted by videoconference, without real access for the accused to a lawyer.

Young people sentenced to death

The profile of the condemned illustrates the extent of the repression. These are "very young Iranians, aged 20 to 25, arrested during the January revolts, but also older opponents, notably linked to the People's Mojahedin. They are accused of endangering national security or 'war against God', a charge frequently used by the regime which carries a death sentence", explains the Iran specialist.

"While it took the Islamic Republic more than a year to execute eight demonstrators from the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, the current executions took place in just over three months," IHR said.

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At the beginning of April, the powerful head of the Iranian judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei explicitly called on the courts to speed up the handing down of death sentences, both for cases linked to the external conflict and for those concerning internal demonstrations. A directive followed by immediate effects which shows that, despite the war and the changes at the head of the regime, the Iranian judicial system has remained intact.

Terrorize the population

At the same time, repression intensified well beyond executions. According to IHR, at least 3,646 people have been arrested since the start of the war, including more than 700 after the ceasefire was announced on April 8. On April 20, Iran's police chief announced the arrest of at least 1,800 additional people, accused of "hostile" activities or links to the opposition. Among those targeted are activists, but also ordinary citizens, prosecuted for online publications or their participation in rallies.

Lawyers are not spared. Several defenders have been arrested in recent weeks, including well-known human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. In many cases, detainees are held incommunicado, fueling fears of imminent executions.

For Azadeh Kian, this strategy aims above all to terrorize the population. "The goal is to intimidate. At the same time, in recent days, armed parades of supporters of the regime have been organized to send a clear message to opponents: 'We are watching you.' The government fears sporadic riots,” she explains. “The economic crisis was already there, and with the war, the destruction, unemployment and inflation which has increased further, the population is bloodless and paralyzed.”

Politically, the war has strengthened the regime's harshest factions and the Islamic Republic's repressive system still functions, despite the damage inflicted. “The Islamic Republic has become militarized and most of the power is now in the hands of the most radical,” summarizes the researcher, who sees in the appointment of General Ahmad Vahidi at the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a telling symbol. Former head of the intelligence service of the Revolutionary Guards, a central figure in internal repression, he was appointed to this position after the death of Mohammad Pakpour at the start of the conflict.

Blind spot in negotiations

In this context, NGOs fear a new wave of executions. Hundreds of demonstrators are currently being prosecuted for offenses punishable by the death penalty, and at least 30 have already been sentenced to death, according to IHR, which calls for an immediate moratorium and believes that the issue of executions must be central in any negotiations with Tehran.

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Donald Trump on Tuesday asked Iranian leaders to “release” several women he said were under threat of execution. "To the Iranian leaders, who will soon negotiate with my representatives: I would be very grateful for the release of these women. (...) Please do not hurt them! It would be a very good start to the negotiations!!!", wrote the American president on his Truth Social network.

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“Among the women presented as being on the verge of execution, some have been released, while others are the subject of proceedings likely to result in at most a prison sentence,” responded the Mizan site, an organ of the Iranian judiciary for which “Trump has once again been misled by false information”.

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian opponent based in the United States, published on X eight names of women, all arrested according to her in connection with the bloodily repressed January demonstrations. One of them is Bita Hemmati, sentenced to death for throwing concrete blocks from a building at security forces during protests, according to several human rights organizations.

In a report published in mid-April, the NGO Hengaw, based in Norway, distributed a photo of Bita Hemmati identical to one of the eight photographs shared by Donald Trump.

According to the organization, another of these photographs depicts Mahboubeh Shabani, 32, sentenced to death for "launching a war against God" after transporting injured protesters on her motorcycle to the northeastern city of Mashhad where she is now imprisoned.

According to human rights organizations, in 2025 Iran was ranked second in the world for the number of executions – behind China – with at least 1,639 people, including 48 women, killed. Already a record for more than twenty years.

With AFP

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