The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday called for a halt to the increasing number of executions in Iran, as a step towards abolishing death penalty.
“Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year and up until 28 August 2025, according to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office. Iran has been ignoring multiple calls to join the worldwide movement towards abolition of the death penalty,” said Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson.
“In July alone, Iranian authorities executed 110 individuals. This represents more than double the number of people executed in July of last year, and follows a major increase in executions during the first half of 2025,” Shamdasani told reporters at the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using death penalty as a tool of State intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” she added.
Currently facing imminent execution are 11 individuals; six of them charged with “armed rebellion” due to their alleged membership of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) group, and five in relation to their participation in the 2022 protests. On 16 August 2025, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence against workers' rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi.
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. It creates an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people,” the spokesperson said. “It should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
“We call on the Government of Iran not to implement the death penalty against these and other individuals on death row. And once again, we call on Iran to impose a moratorium on the application of the capital punishment, as a step towards its abolition,” Shamdasani said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Marta Hurtado: + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan: +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on increasing executions in Iran
TRT: 01:44
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 August 2025 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year and up until 28 August, according to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office. Iran has been ignoring multiple calls to join the worldwide movement towards abolition of the death penalty.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In July alone, Iranian authorities executed 110 individuals. This represents more than double the number of people executed in July of last year, and follows a major increase in executions during the first half of 2025. The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using death penalty as a tool of State intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. It creates an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. It should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We call on the Government of Iran not to implement the death penalty against these and other individuals on death row. And once again, we call on Iran to impose a moratorium on the application of the capital punishment, as a step towards its abolition.”
- Cutaways: Briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Ukraine has sustained almost 2,000 attacks on education since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, with some 270 this year alone, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
More than 280,000 people have now been displaced by fighting in Yemen and many vulnerable people are unable to access lifesaving relief because it is too dangerous to do so, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN
Tour guides at UN Geneva turned heads at the Palace of Nations on Thursday as they unveiled stylish new uniforms, designed in partnership with leading Italian sustainable fashion designers and manufacturers.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WFP
Aid agencies warned on Friday of the fast-developing humanitarian emergency inside Taiz City in Yemen, which has been encircled by de facto Houthi forces fighting government troops along the country’s west coast.
2
17
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | OCHA , WMO
Two UN agencies teamed up on Wednesday to issue an appeal for immediate assistance to help communities already being impacted by the strongest El Niño on record.
3
16
2
2
Edited News , B-roll , Conferences , Images | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
Sixth Consultative Meeting on Enhancing Coordination of Peace Initiatives and Efforts for Sudan
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , UNHCR
Yemen war continues to force families from homes amid hunger and disease
More than 250,000 people have now fled renewed fighting in Yemen, the UN said on Tuesday, citing particular concern for those sheltering in the southwestern city of Taiz and the wider governorate, where access is “essentially blocked”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
A little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed and hundreds more injured, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.