‘Iran execution machine’ in overdrive: Opposition group claims 353 hanged in a month

Iran’s opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), on Saturday alleged that at least 353 prisoners were executed across the country during the Iranian month of Bahman (January 21–February 19), describing it as an unprecedented surge under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In a statement issued on February 21, the NCRI claimed that the total number of executions carried out over the past 11 months has reached at least 2,587, a figure it termed the highest since 1988. The coalition said the rise reflects what it called the regime’s increasing reliance on capital punishment.

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Executions reported across 31 provinces and 65 cities

According to the NCRI statement, executions during Bahman were reported in 31 provinces and 65 cities. Razavi Khorasan province topped the list with 42 executions, followed by Lorestan (26), Khuzestan (22), Isfahan (20), Fars and Kerman (17 each), and Mazandaran (16).

The group said the 353 executions recorded in Bahman were over 4.5 times higher than the 76 reported in the same month last year, nearly ten times the 36 executions cited for Bahman 1402, and about eight times the 44 reported in Bahman 1401.

Calling the surge “unprecedented,” the NCRI alleged that the clerical establishment “cannot survive even for a single day without execution, imprisonment, and torture.”

Ten executions on first day of Ramadan, says NCRI

The statement further alleged that on February 19, coinciding with the first day of Ramadan, 10 prisoners were executed in different cities. The names listed include Farez Babaei in Bukan, Milad Ghaedi in Mahshahr, Javad Zare (Keshani) in Torbat Heydarieh, Mehrshad Panji in Sari, Rahim Mashayekhi in Ferdows, Rahman Omrani in Esfarayen, Mokhtar Azizian in Bojnurd, Ali-Jafar Sadeghi in Behbahan, Hassan Amani (Narouie) in Sarakhs, and one prisoner in Taybad.

A day earlier, on February 18, the group said 13 prisoners were hanged, including Doshambeh Tajik in Chabahar, Yaser Ghasemi in Shahrekord, Morteza Afrashteh in Mashhad, Safa Rajabian in Gonabad, Jalil Shamsi in Damghan, Mojtaba Afshar and Sajjad Ahmadi in Malayer, Mohammad Tavakoli in Mahabad, Khashayar Miri in Qezelhesar Prison (Karaj), Emad Zeidi in Bushehr, Khodayar Jahan-Tigh in Kashmar, Meysam Raoufi in Sabzevar, and Esmail Kalhori in Lahijan.

On February 17, 16 prisoners were executed, the NCRI said. While 12 names were mentioned in an earlier announcement, the coalition identified four others: Rasul Khani and Mohsen Seyedi in Shiraz, and Reza Bigham, along with another prisoner in Mashhad.

Opposition coalition founded in 1981

The NCRI, founded in 1981, describes itself as a coalition of democratic Iranian organisations, groups, and personalities. The statement was issued by the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and shared through its official channels.

The Iranian authorities have not publicly responded to the claims at the time of publishing.