‘This may be the last time you hear my voice’: Political executions in Iran have surged since the start of the war, with at least 32 political prisoners executed since 28 February, the UN reported. The executions are part of a sharp increase in politically motivated death sentences.

Surge in Political Executions

Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, on death row in western Iran, warned in a voice note obtained by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network that this might be the last time his voice is heard. He was arrested in 2022 during nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. He was accused of involvement in the killing of a Basij militia member. After 42 months of fear and sleepless nights, he was executed earlier this month.

Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, the UN has verified the execution of at least 32 political prisoners. This marks a sharp year-on-year increase, with 45 politically motivated executions in 2025, according to Amnesty International.

The UN Human Rights Office has warned that the death penalty is increasingly being used to silence political dissent. Several executed individuals were accused of spying for Israel or the CIA, while others were affiliated with an exiled opposition group. Fourteen were arrested in relation to the January uprising, which was ended with lethal force, leading to thousands of deaths.

Death Penalty as a Tool of Repression

Nassim Papayianni of Amnesty International said the Iranian authorities use the death penalty as a tool of political repression. ‘They weaponise the death penalty to instil fear and crush dissent,’ he said. Executions are typically carried out by hanging at dawn, with people in Iran waking up to near-daily announcements.

The UN Human Rights Office expressed concern that some executions may be happening in secret. In 2024, Iran carried out 2,159 executions, the highest number since 1989, according to Amnesty International. The vast majority were for drug-related offenses or murder.

With its increased use of the death penalty, the Iranian authorities are attempting to restore authority after their image was damaged by the January uprising and the war, according to Kaveh Kermanshahi of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. ‘At a time when it is confronting multiple internal and external crises, it is attempting to stage a display of power,’ he said.

Patterns of Repression

Late last month, state-run television reported the execution of Sasan Azadvar, a 21-year-old karate champion from Isfahan. He was convicted of ‘moharabeh’ or ‘waging war against God’ and ‘effective collaboration with the enemy’ for attacking police forces during January’s protests. However, he was not accused of any lethal offense, which is the legal threshold for the death penalty under international law.

Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old aerospace engineering student, was hanged on 11 May. Iran’s judiciary claimed he was convicted of sharing classified information with Israeli and US intelligence. However, the Norway-based Hengaw human rights organisation published a note he wrote before his death, stating he was arrested on fabricated espionage charges and forced into a false confession after eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement.

Hengaw expressed deep concern over the speed and lack of transparency in trials, sentencing, and executions. The group’s Aywar Shekhi told the BBC that the Islamic Republic continues to systematically repress the population by arbitrarily accusing dissidents of being ‘Israeli spies’ without credible evidence or fair trial standards.

Mehrab Abdollahzadeh described the torment of being on death row in his prison voice message. ‘A condemned person thinks every single night and day that they might be called and taken away to be executed,’ he said. The 29-year-old Kurdish shop owner was executed without prior warning to his relatives or lawyers, and his body has not been returned to his family.

Iranian authorities did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment on their increased use of the death penalty, including against Sardar Azadvar, and on claims of torture. On 30 April, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, dismissed international criticism of death sentences linked to January’s unrest, stating that his courts would not be swayed.