Iran is carrying out near-daily executions of prisoners in secrecy, with families often only learning of the deaths after they have occurred, according to rights groups and sources close to the relatives. In some cases, authorities have refused to hand over the bodies, and families face harassment and pressure to remain silent about the state killings.
The Norway-based monitoring group Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reports that at least 24 people have been executed since March, including six over two days. The surge has raised fears for hundreds of detainees facing the death penalty over anti-government protests in January, as well as those held on espionage charges during the war with the US and Israel.
An internet blackout imposed more than two months ago has made communication with people inside Iran difficult, though some have managed to send messages via encrypted channels. In one voice note, a family member of Saleh Mohammadi, a teenage wrestling champion executed in March, described ongoing harassment by government supporters gathering outside their home, chanting slogans and causing psychological trauma.
Among those recently executed were Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a Kurdish protester arrested during the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom movement, and Nasser Bakerzadeh and Yaghoub Karimpour, both convicted of spying for Israel. All three were held in Urmia central prison. Letters and voice messages from detainees suggest a pattern of psychological and physical torture before execution.
Rebin Rahmani of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said authorities take prisoners to undisclosed locations, execute them, and prevent families from receiving the bodies. He described prisoners being isolated, bound, and transferred to secure facilities for forced confessions before solitary confinement and execution.
In a voice note, Abdollahzadeh denied the allegations against him, claiming 38 days of torture to force a confession. Bakerzadeh wrote that the death sentence had shattered him and brought his family to their knees, warning: 'Today it is my turn. Tomorrow it will be someone else’s.'
