Iran has pressed ahead with executions since the earliest phase of the war finished in March, in what activists see as an attempt to instill fear in society and prevent a repeat of the protests that shook the leadership earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Republic shows no mercy to anyone. Watch this video. Vahid Baniamerian was a beautiful soul, a human being meant for a civilized society. This video is a part of one of his classes. pic.twitter.com\/G2fIiwWRXf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Hamidreza (@justchangingun) April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The political situation is now all the more febrile after the killing of longstanding supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war and his replacement by his son Mojtaba, who has yet to appear in public.\n<\/p>\n Now that a shaky ceasefire has ruptured, rights groups fear Iran will further ramp up executions to intimidate people into silence.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the breakdown of the ceasefire and the resumption of the war, we are deeply concerned that the authorities will exploit the situation to intensify the execution of political prisoners,\u201d said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO, which tracks executions.<\/p>\n IHR warns \u201chundreds of political prisoners and protesters are currently facing capital charges\u201d with around 100 already sentenced to death.<\/p>\n This includes over 70 people awaiting the gallows in a single prison \u2014 Dastgerd in the central city of Isfahan.<\/p>\n IHR has repeatedly called for what it terms Iran\u2019s \u201ckilling machine\u201d to be a central part of any dialogue with the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThe international community \u2014 and the European Union in particular \u2014 must make an immediate moratorium on executions a central issue\u201d in any negotiations, said Amiry-Moghaddam.<\/p>\n According to IHR, since the start of the war, 24 people have been hanged over the January protests and another two over a previous protest movement that shook Iran between 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n Authorities say those convicted carried out deadly attacks against security forces or targeted public buildings, but rights groups say they were tortured and convicted after grossly unfair fast-track trials.<\/p>\n Another 13 men have been executed for alleged links to the MEK and other banned groups, while 10 people have been hanged on accusations of espionage.<\/p>\n But with over 400 people executed so far in this year alone, according to IHR, such high-profile cases do not form the bulk of capital punishment in the country.<\/p>\n Most people are hanged on drug-related charges or for murder.<\/p>\n To protest the high levels of hangings at their prison, inmates at Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj outside Tehran have staged a sit-in protest since July 13 after fellow prisoners were taken to solitary confinement ahead of hanging on drugs charges.<\/p>\n Footage shared by rights groups on social media showed inmates sitting outside their cells chanting \u201cno to execution.\u201d<\/p>\n Prisoners held in Ward 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj entered yesterday the tenth consecutive day of their protest against executions. The prisoners have continued both their sit-in and their refusal to accept prison food in response to the transfer of six inmates to solitary\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/PncL8g8zDQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 HRANA English (@HRANA_English) July 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThese are prisoners who committed errors simply to afford the basic necessities of life, and they deeply regret their actions. Where else in the world is a human life taken for a first mistake?\u201d the prisoners said in a statement seen by AFP.\n<\/p>\n Last year, Iran put to death over 2,150 people, according to Amnesty International, making it again by a wide margin the world\u2019s most prolific executioner after China.<\/p>\n Baniamerian was from childhood \u201ca kind and humble person,\u201d his relative said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a sense of responsibility. He always wanted to help,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n \u201cEven in his darkest moments, he chose to encourage others instead of giving in to fear,\u201d the relative said.<\/p>\n In his last days in prison, he tried to keep up the spirits of his fellow inmates and managed to get an audio message smuggled out to his mother.<\/p>\n \u201cI said goodbye to you and did not know what lay ahead,\u201d he said, referring to their final meeting.<\/p>\n A video also smuggled out of prison showed him singing a patriotic song in the prison yard ahead of execution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe day they took them to solitary, Vahid told them, \u2018Do not cry in front of the enemy. We are proud of what we are doing,’\u201d his relative said.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\t\t\t
\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/p>\n For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
\t\t\t
\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AFP__20260131__94PD3G4__v1__HighRes__FranceIranPoliticsDemo-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tA demonstrator wears a sticker over her mouth with the words \u201cno execution\u201d next to the portraits of alleged victims of crackdowns, during a silent march denouncing the deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Islamic Republic, in Paris on January 31, 2026. (S\u00e9bastien DUPUY \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tWe can’t do this work alone.\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-4-200x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/334x334-200x200.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t