Amnesty International announced on Monday that Iran executed more than 2,150 people last year, in what it described as a “shocking” increase that pushed the total number of recorded executions worldwide to the highest level since 1981.
According to the human rights organization’s report, it confirmed more than 2,707 executions in 17 countries worldwide in 2025, including 2,159 executions in Iran.
The UK-based organization noted that, as in previous years, the total does not include thousands of executions believed to have been carried out in China, the world’s leading executioner, due to state secrecy surrounding the data.
Amnesty said the figure of 2,707 recorded executions in 2025 represents an increase of more than two-thirds compared with the previous year.
It added that the use of capital punishment “was most evident in countries where authorities tightened their grip on power by restricting civil liberties, silencing dissent, and disregarding protections set out in international human rights law and standards.”
The organization said the “massive increase in recorded executions in Iran” came amid “intensified use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression and control,” particularly following the June 2025 war with Israel.
Amnesty and other human rights groups also indicated that Iran further escalated its use of executions in 2026 following the January protests and the war against Israel and the United States, with executions linked to protest-related charges and alleged membership in banned groups.
According to the report, Iran—described as the primary contributor to the sharp rise—executed at least 2,159 people in 2025, more than double the number recorded in 2024.
In the United States, the total number of executions reached 47, the highest since 2009, following what Amnesty described as an “unprecedented increase” in executions in Florida, which accounted for 19 cases.
Amnesty also said China’s secrecy surrounding its use of the death penalty suggests a deliberate use of capital punishment to send a message that the state will not tolerate threats to public security or stability, maintaining that China remains the world’s leading executioner.
AFP
