Every 14 hours: This Winter Marks a Record Number of Executions in the Islamic Republic
The number of executions in Iran has increased by 24% since the beginning of winter compared to the average of the last 15 years, an Iran Open Data investigation shows.
The average execution rate in the Islamic Republic was one execution every 17 hours between 2008-2022, but with the increase in the number of executions in 2023, it is now one execution every 14 hours.
Iranian Human Rights Organization data shows that from the beginning of 2008 until March 6, 2022, 7,850 individuals were executed in Iran. Dividing the execution events by the number of hours, we conclude that, in the Islamic Republic, one person is executed every 17 hours.
According to statistics, in the first 65 days of 2023, a total of 113 people were executed in Iran. That means one person has been executed every 14 hours, which is the highest execution rate in the past 8 years.
Amnesty International reports that, after China, Iran has the highest number of executions in the world. There are no statistics or estimates of the number of executions in China, but human rights organizations estimate that the number of executions in China is higher than in Iran.
Geographical distribution
The geographical distribution of executions in Iran shows the situation in the border regions is more critical than in other provinces.
Numerically, the highest number of executions happen in Tehran and Alborz provinces, where at least 412 executions have been carried out between 2017 and 2021. After Tehran, West Azarbaijan province with 147 executions, Razavi Khorasan with 141, and Sistan and Baluchistan with 98 executions have the highest numbers.
We note that the population of West Azerbaijan provinces is slightly higher than that of Sistan and Baluchistan. It is almost equal to one-fifth the population of Tehran and Alborz provinces combined, and half the population of Razavi Khorasan province. With this description, the provinces of West Azerbaijan and Sistan and Baluchistan have, by far, the highest number of executions in Iran.