In a shocking record, Iranian regime authorities hanged 335 prisoners, including 7 women, in November. This includes more than sixty people in various prisons between November 22 and 27. The issuance and approval of death sentences against political prisoners have accelerated, and at least eight prisoners have faced imminent execution in the past two months after their sentences were upheld. This renewed wave is part of the regime’s strategy to intimidate protesters and political dissidents.
A worrying surge in death sentences
Since early November, the Supreme Court of Iran’s regime has upheld the death sentences of eight political prisoners—an indication of the sharp rise in the use of capital punishment as a political repression tool. At least 42 political prisoners now face execution, and dozens more face similar security-related charges that could also lead to death sentences.
Most of these sentences were issued after opaque judicial proceedings, forced confessions, denial of access to lawyers, and extensive violations of due-process rights.
Eight prisoners at immediate risk of execution
The names of the eight political prisoners whose death sentences have been upheld by the Supreme Court are:
Manouchehr Falah and Peyman Farahavar (a poet) from Lakan Prison in Rasht,
Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaee Thani from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad,
Ehsan Faridi from Tabriz Prison,
And four other prisoners: Reza Abdali, Masoud Jamei, Alireza Meadasi, and Farshad Etemadi-far from Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz.
These individuals represent only prominent examples of a wider pattern that has placed dozens of other prisoners at similar risk.
Ambiguous charges, forced confessions, and absence of fair trials
Many cases resulting in death sentences are built on charges such as “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth,” terms systematically used to suppress political dissent.
Such rulings lack judicial legitimacy and expose those issuing or approving them to possible international prosecution under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
At the same time, widespread protests have erupted inside Iran’s prisons over violent treatment of prisoners on death row. On November 12, more than two hundred political prisoners in Evin Prison went on hunger strike to protest the violent transfer of Ehsan Afreshteh—a death-row prisoner. This action is part of the “No-to-Execution Tuesdays” campaign, which has now spread to more than fifty-five prisons.
New legislation expanding the scope of executions
The adoption of the “Law on Intensifying Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with Hostile States” this year has opened the door to more death sentences. The law expands and ambiguously broadens the definition of “espionage,” enabling its use against political activists, cultural figures, journalists, and even social-media users.
This development, alongside the rising number of executions, reveals a governing strategy: spreading fear and repression to control a society already on the brink due to poverty, nationwide protests, and political crises.
International pressure and United Nations warnings
Iran’s regime has one of the highest execution rates in the world. In 2025 alone, more than 1,790 people have been executed—the highest number since 2015.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has described Iran’s increasing use of the death penalty as “alarmingly high” and called for its immediate halt. A UN fact-finding mission also stressed that many of these executions occur after proceedings that violate fair-trial standards.
Executions as a tool of political intimidation
The latest wave of confirmed death sentences against political prisoners, along with dozens now on death row, paints a clear picture of injustice, torture, forced confessions, and politically motivated decisions within Iran’s judicial system. While the regime aims to suppress protests and cultivate fear, such actions may backfire in the current climate and further fuel public anger.
