84 Groups Call for Action to Stop Execution of Afghan Nationals in Iran
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 4, 2025: Iran Human Rights and 83 Iranian and international organisations and groups have called for action to stop the execution of Afghan nationals in Iran.
The execution of Afghan nationals has been rising at an unprecedented rate since the Taliban takeover in 2021 when five Afghans were executed in its immediate aftermath. That number more than tripled in 2022, with 16 Afghan nationals executed. This trend continued in 2023 when the number of Afghan nationals executed rose to 25, and more than tripled in 2024, with 80 executions recorded. In the first five months of 2025, at least 32 Afghans have been executed.
IHRNGO Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Afghan nationals in Iran are amongst the weakest segments of society and the least costly victims of the Islamic Republic’s execution machine – an execution machine that aims to instil fear in society and maintain the regime.”
He added, “By promoting anti-immigrant discourse against Afghans, the authorities are paving the way for more executions. The Iranian people, civil society, and the international community must respond strongly to raise the political cost of executing Afghans and work to stop these executions.”
Full Text of Statement:
Call to Action Against Execution of Afghan Nationals in Iran
There has been a dramatic rise in the execution of Afghan nationals in Iran. In 2024, at least 80 Afghan men were executed in Iran, a three-fold increase compared to the previous year. These executions are carried out in silence and without transparency. Only six of the 80 executions were announced through official sources.
This trend has continued into 2025, with at least 32 Afghan nationals executed in the first five months of the year.
The Islamic Republic has demonstrated that it acts with impunity when it comes to executing the most marginalised and impoverished communities whose executions do not have any political cost.
Given the internal political circumstances in Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic also does not feel obligated to grant consular access to Afghan nationals. If these executions continue to be costless for the Islamic Republic, we fear that dozens more Afghan nationals will be executed in the coming months.
We emphasise that legal proceedings, particularly those related to the death penalty, do not meet the minimum fair trial standards and confessions are often extracted under torture and coercion.
Furthermore, the anti-immigration wave, especially anti-Afghan sentiment fuelled by the government to divert public attention from its economic mismanagement, paves the way for further reducing the political cost of their execution.
We, the undersigned, call on all human rights organisations, activists, political figures and the public to express their opposition to the execution of Afghan nationals by any means possible. We also urge the international community to take appropriate action to prevent the continuation of this trend.
- Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO)
- World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP)
- Impact Iran
- FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)
- Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran (Shirin Ebadi)
- Global Campaign to Stop Executions In Iran
- Justice for Iran
- United for Iran (U4I)
- Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran
- Center for Human Rights in Iran
- Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
- The Kurdistan Human Rights Association-Geneva (KMMK-G)
- Kurdpa
- Baloch Activists Campaign
- Haal Vsh
- Rasanak
- Karun Human Rights Organization
- Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ)
- Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
- Kurdistan Human Rights Network
- Balochistan Human Rights Group
- 6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network)
- Siamak Pourzand Foundation
- Hana Human Rights Organization
- United Against Gender Apartheid
- International Committee Against Execution (ICAE)
- International Educational Development (IED)
- All Human Rights for All in Iran
- League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
- Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM)
- The Advocates for Human Rights (TAHR)
- Harm Reduction International
- Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
- Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
- Common Good Foundation, USA
- Death Penalty Focus, USA
- Witness to Innocence, USA
- Abolition Death Penalty of Iraq
- Odhikar, Bangladesh
- Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Action
- Capital Punishment Justice Project, Australia
- Rescue Alternatives Liberia
- Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Uganda
- Lifespark - movement against the death penalty, Switzerland
- Pax Christi Uvira asbl, DRC
- Humanity Diaspo, France
- ACAT Liberia
- Redemption Pakistan
- The Christian Union for Progress and Human Rights (UCPDHO), DRC
- German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP)
- Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
- ACAT Belgium
- ACAT Germany
- The Kenya Human Rights Commission
- Legal Awareness Watch Pakistan
- Think Centre, Singapore
- Recortes Cero, Spain
- Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat, Indonesia
- Lawyers For Human Rights International, India
- CrimeInfo, Japan
- Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU)
- Ligue des droits de l’Homme, France
- ACAT Ghana
- International Feminist Women (iFM), Spain
- Federation of Women’s Associations of the Community of Madrid (FAMCM)
- Tierra y Cultura, Spain
- United to End Executions in Iran (UTEEIRAN)
- The Youth and Justice Lab, Canada
- Free Human, Germany
- Iranian American Movements for Human Rights, San Diego
- Woman, Life, Freedom Nürnberg & Erlangen e.V.
- The Iranian Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Spain
- Maanà Association, Italy
- Solidarity With Iranians-Vancouver, Canada
- Andalusian Kurdish Association
- Justice Support Association
- Woman Life Freedom Germany
- BRAMSH (Balochistan Women’s Voices)
- Iranian Human Rights Activists
- Campaign To Free Jailed Workers in Iran (Free Them Now)
- Noran Human Rights Committee, Norway
- APR KVINNA LIV FRIHET
- Hanai Rojhelat
- ExMuslimScandinavia
