*Update: According to information received from inside Iran as of June 8, 2025 the number of executions carried out in May has now reached 178.
May 2025 marked one of the bloodiest months in recent history under the clerical regime in Iran, with an alarming surge in executions and continued repression of political prisoners. At least 175 individuals were executed during the month, including seven women, two juvenile offenders, and one public execution in Delfan. These developments reflect the regime’s increasing reliance on capital punishment as a tool for suppressing dissent and instilling fear amid growing unrest.
Executions: Escalation of State Violence and Suppression
The month of May 2025 witnessed a shocking surge in executions across Iran, marking a continuation of the Islamic Republic’s policy of using the death penalty as a primary tool of political repression, social control, and suppression of dissent.
Mass Executions Across the Country
A significant and alarming development occurred in the final days of the month:
Between May 26 and 28 alone, the regime carried out 41 executions, an average of nearly 14 executions per day, or one every two hours.
May 28: 18 executions
May 27: 9 executions
May 26: 14 executions
Executions were reported from Qezel Hesar, Qazvin, Qom, Shiraz, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Kerman, Dezful, Khash, and several other cities, reflecting a nationwide campaign of state killing.
Public Execution and Gender-Based Violence
A public execution took place in Delfan, sending a chilling message of fear and intimidation to the general population.
Seven women were executed throughout the month, including:
Setareh Taherloo, executed in Damghan Prison on May 19.
Mahbubeh Khosrownejad, executed in Gorgan Prison on May 12.
A woman named Saghar executed in Qezel Hesar Prison in early May.
These cases exemplify the regime’s increasing disregard for international norms prohibiting the execution of women, particularly in cases involving questionable legal proceedings or coerced confessions.
Execution of Juvenile Offenders
Two individuals executed in May were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offenses, in violation of international law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child:
Mohammad Reza Sabzi, 20, executed in Malayer Prison – he was just 16 at the time of the alleged crime.
Hadi Soleimani, executed in Adelabad Prison, Shiraz, also committed the alleged offense as a minor.
Executions on Espionage Charges
The regime continued to execute individuals on politically motivated charges, often under the vague pretexts of “espionage” or “corruption on earth”:
On May 28, Pedram Madani, aged 41, was executed in Qezel Hesar Prison for alleged espionage linked to Israel and financial crimes. Arrested in 2020, Madani had previously traveled to Germany and was tried in a closed and opaque judicial process.
Political Prisoners and Judicial Abuses
In May 2025, the Iranian regime escalated its systematic campaign of repression against political prisoners through a combination of arbitrary arrests, prolonged solitary confinement, denial of legal representation, medical neglect, and politically motivated death sentences.
Arbitrary Arrests and Enforced Disappearances
Several political prisoners were either re-arrested without new charges or have been forcibly disappeared:
Bijan Kazemi, previously imprisoned for political activities and released under electronic surveillance, was re-arrested on January 20, 2025, without any formal charges or legal justification. His family has been denied regular contact, and he remains incommunicado.
Mohammad Akbari Monfared and Amirhossein Akbari Monfared, also detained in January 2025, have been held without trial. Security forces violently raided their home, and their current conditions remain unknown. Their arrests followed the assassination of two notorious regime judges, suggesting a retaliatory motive.
Maryam Akbari Monfared, a long-term political prisoner held in Qarchak Prison since 2009, continues to be denied medical leave despite suffering from serious spinal injuries. Her case is emblematic of the regime’s use of long-term incarceration to silence justice-seeking relatives of victims of past massacres. Maryam’s siblings, all members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), were executed in the 1980s and 1988.
Death Sentences Based on Political Allegations
The Iranian judiciary continues to impose death sentences on political prisoners through deeply flawed legal processes:
Ehsan Faridi, a 25-year-old engineering student from the University of Tabriz, was sentenced to death in May 2025 for alleged ties to the MEK. His trial lacked due process, relying solely on coerced confessions obtained under duress by the Ministry of Intelligence. He was convicted of “corruption on earth,” a vague and politically charged charge frequently used to suppress dissent.
Amin Farahavar (also known as Payman), a poet and political activist from Gilan Province, was sentenced to death on May 1, 2025, for “enmity against God” (moharebeh). The sentence was handed down without legal counsel and based on fabricated evidence by the regime’s intelligence agencies. He suffers from untreated complications related to past gallbladder surgery, and his health has deteriorated in detention.
These cases exemplify the regime’s use of the death penalty as a tool of political suppression rather than criminal justice. Death sentences are often issued swiftly and in secret, following sham trials where defendants are denied basic legal rights.
Hunger Strikes and Protests by Political Prisoners
In response to the regime’s abusive treatment, political prisoners have engaged in acts of civil resistance:
Mir-Yousef Younesi, a 70-year-old political prisoner with a history of incarceration during both the Shah’s and Islamic Republic eras, launched a hunger strike on May 13, 2025, after being forcibly transferred to a ward for ordinary criminals in Evin Prison. The transfer was carried out violently and without explanation, separating him from his son, also a political prisoner. Despite protests by other inmates and promises from prison officials, he remains in an unsuitable ward, deprived of appropriate medical care despite suffering from diabetes and hearing loss.
Political prisoners in Evin’s Ward 4 staged a sit-in protest on May 6, demanding Mir-Yousef’s return. Their peaceful demonstration was met with intimidation, yet they persist in seeking justice.
Medical Neglect as a Form of Torture
Deliberate denial of medical treatment to political prisoners remains a widespread method of punishment:
Maryam Akbari Monfared, suffering from debilitating spinal conditions, has been denied access to a specialist for over 15 years.
Azar Korvandi, aged 63 and a former political prisoner from the 1980s, faces life-threatening health conditions including heart disease, cancer history, and severe joint pain. Despite her medical needs, she remains in Evin Prison without proper care.
Marzieh Farsi, a cancer survivor imprisoned since August 2023, is also being denied medical attention.
Ahmadreza Djalali, a dual-national academic sentenced to death, suffered a heart attack in early May but was only treated at the prison infirmary and denied access to a cardiologist.
Motalleb Ahmadian, an ethnic Kurdish prisoner detained since 2009, suffers from multiple chronic illnesses including cancer and kidney failure. On May 2, 2025, he began a hunger strike to protest the denial of medical treatment.
“No to Execution Tuesdays” – 71 Weeks of Resistance Behind Bars
Amid an intensifying wave of executions in Iran, the grassroots prison-based movement known as the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign reached a significant milestone in its 71st consecutive week on June 3, 2025. This weekly protest movement, organized by prisoners across the country, now spans 46 prisons, including the recent participation of inmates in Firouzabad Prison in Fars Province.
This initiative, sustained under brutal conditions, represents a rare and courageous act of civil resistance within the heart of Iran’s prison system. Each Tuesday, participating prisoners declare their opposition to the death penalty by staging coordinated hunger strikes and issuing public statements. These efforts are often met with severe retaliation, including solitary confinement, beatings, and denial of medical care—yet the campaign endures and continues to expand.
This collective act of resistance from within the prison system stands as a powerful denunciation of Iran’s use of capital punishment. It represents both a call for life and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of state violence.
Iran Human Rights Monitor supports the demands of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign and reiterates its call for an immediate moratorium on all executions, the release of political prisoners, and international accountability for Iran’s systematic violations of the right to life.
Conclusion
The events of May 2025 reflect a deeply alarming escalation in human rights violations across Iran. The scale and character of the executions, targeting women, juvenile offenders, ethnic minorities, and political prisoners, underscore a deliberate and systematic campaign of state repression. The regime’s continued use of the judiciary and prison system as instruments of control, intimidation, and political persecution reveals a pattern of governance rooted in fear and brutality.
The widespread use of arbitrary executions, the denial of medical care to ill prisoners, and the criminalization of peaceful dissent highlight the urgent need for international action. Iran Human Rights Monitor calls on the United Nations, its relevant mechanisms, and international human rights organizations to launch immediate investigations into the wave of executions and the conditions inside Iranian prisons. Concrete steps must be taken to halt ongoing executions, ensure accountability, and secure the release of political prisoners at risk.
