The Iran Human Rights organisation, in its annual report, revealed that the Islamic Republic executed at least 80 Afghan citizens in 2024. This figure is three times higher than the number of Afghans executed in Iran in 2023.
According to the report, 25 Afghan nationals were executed in 2023, while 16 were executed in 2022. The Norway-based human rights organisation accused the Iranian authorities of intensifying repression against Afghan citizens and implementing increasingly “discriminatory” policies.
Afghan citizens executed in Iran faced various charges. The report stated that 39 were executed on drug-related offences, while 31 were sentenced to death for murder under qisas (retribution laws). Additionally, nine were executed on charges of rape.
The organisation further reported that 24 of the executed Afghans were not properly identified, with only their first names recorded. One Afghan citizen was publicly hanged in front of a crowd.
The report indicated that Afghan nationals were executed in prisons across 15 Iranian provinces, with 31 executions taking place in Alborz/Tehran prisons. However, only six of these executions were officially announced by Iranian authorities.
The Iran Human Rights organisation highlighted that Afghans constitute the largest group of non-Iranians executed or sentenced to death in Iranian prisons.
In 2021, there were no recorded executions of Afghan citizens in Iran until September. However, within a span of just 35 days, five Afghan men were executed.
On October 2021, the organisation warned that the Taliban’s return to power had created conditions that facilitated the execution of Afghan citizens in Iran. The report noted that executions of Afghans have significantly increased since the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan.
The organisation also stated that there is no official data on the total number of Afghan death row prisoners in Iran. However, estimates suggest that the number is particularly high in prisons in the country’s eastern regions.
Additionally, the report pointed out that Afghan executions are rarely publicised by Iranian authorities, and many of those sentenced to death lack family networks or legal representation to advocate on their behalf. Consequently, the organisation believes the actual number of executions is likely higher than officially recorded figures.
In January, Abdul Malik Haqqani, the administrative deputy of the Taliban’s Supreme Court, led a delegation to Iran and formally requested a list of Afghan prisoners on death row.
During his visit, the Taliban official urged the Iranian government to “show leniency toward Afghan prisoners based on Islamic brotherhood” and to consider alternative punishments instead of the death penalty.
