ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities have executed at least 67 prisoners, including nine political prisoners, in July 2026, according to data published on Sunday by a rights group in its July statistical report, bringing its total number of recorded executions in 2026 to 442.
“Compared with the same period last year, the number of executions fell by at least 29, representing a 30 percent decrease,” according to Norway-based Hengaw human rights organization, which documented at least 96 executions in Iranian prisons during July 2025.
“The Statistics and Documents Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has verified the identities of all 67 prisoners executed in Iranian prisons during the month,” the report stated.
The report follows an uptick in Iranian authorities’ use of executions and public hangings as tools to quell protests and stifle public dissent, underscoring growing concerns among human rights organizations over the use of capital punishment.
Only eight of the 67 executions documented in July, representing 12 percent of the total, were officially announced by Iranian authorities or judiciary-affiliated media outlets.
Two were publicly executed in July, Amir Hossein Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi, in a public square in Isfahan in connection with the January nationwide protests, during which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other security forces killed tens of thousands of protesters.
Hengaw also documented executions of seven prisoners which were carried out in secret, without knowledge of their families, one of whom was 20-year-old Arvin Kheirkhahan, executed at dawn on Saturday.
At least nine political prisoners arrested during the January 2026 protests and the Women, Life, Freedom movement were executed by Iranian authorities in July on charges including moharebeh, waging war against God, espionage, and other alleged offenses.
Two of the prisoners, Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani Jaf, were of Kurdish origin and were both executed as prisoners of conscience at Kermanshah Central Prison on July 14.
According to Hengaw's data, at least 10 Kurdish prisoners were executed in July, representing 15 percent of total executions.
Isfahan Province recorded the highest number of executions during July, with 10 cases. The Kurdish-majority provinces saw one in Sanandaj, two in Kermanshah, two in West Azerbaijan, and 1 in Ilam. After Isfahan, the highest numbers were recorded in East Azerbaijan and Fars provinces, with eight executions each.
According to Hengaw, at least 375 people were executed in the first six months of this year, bringing the total number of recorded executions in 2026 to 442.
