The 16th annual report on the death penalty by Iran Human Rights and ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty) provides an assessment and analysis of the 2023 death penalty trends in 2023 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to the report, at least 834 people were executed in 2023, a 43% increase compared to 582 in 2022. 

The report said that in 2023, 125 executions (15%) were announced by official sources, compared to 12% in 2022, 16.5% in 2021 and an average of 33% in 2018-2020. 85% of all executions, i.e. 709 executions, were not announced by the authorities.

The report listed the reasons for the executions as follows: at least 471 people (56%) were executed for drug-related charges, compared to 256 in 2022, 126 in 2021 and an average of 24 per year in 2018-2020. Only 25 (5%) of the 471 drug-related executions were announced by official sources. At least 282 executions (33.8% of all executions) were for murder charges. At least 39 people, among them 6 protesters and one woman, were executed for security-related charges (moharebeh, baghy and efsad-fil-arz). At least 8 protesters were executed. At least 20 people were executed for rape charges. 2 people were executed for blasphemy charges. One man was executed for adultery charges. 7 people were hanged in public spaces. At least 2 juvenile offenders were among those executed, one of whom was 17 at the time of execution. The cases of 3 possible others were still being investigated at the time of writing.

In addition, at least 22 women were executed, the highest number since 2013. At least 512 executions in 2023 and more than 4,541 executions since 2010 have been based on death sentences issued by the Revolutionary Courts. At least 857 prisoners sentenced to death for murder charges were forgiven by the families of the murder victims per qisas laws.