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.
 

1.  Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO)
2.  World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP)
3.  Impact Iran
4.  FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) 
5.  Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran (Shirin Ebadi)
6.  Global Campaign to Stop Executions In Iran
7.  Justice for Iran
8.  United for Iran (U4I)
9.  Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran
10.  Center for Human Rights in Iran 
11.  Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
12.  The Kurdistan Human Rights Association-Geneva (KMMK-G)
13.  Kurdpa
14.  Baloch Activists Campaign
15.  Haal Vsh
16.  Rasanak
17.  Karun Human Rights Organization 
18.  Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ)
19.  Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) 
20.  Kurdistan Human Rights Network
21.  Balochistan Human Rights Group
22.  6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network)
23.  Siamak Pourzand Foundation
24.  Hana Human Rights Organization 
25.  United Against Gender Apartheid
26.  International Committee Against Execution (ICAE) 
27.  International Educational Development (IED) 
28.  All Human Rights for All in Iran
29.  League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)  
30.  Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM)
31.  The Advocates for Human Rights (TAHR)
32.  Harm Reduction International
33.  Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
34.  Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
35.  Common Good Foundation, USA
36.  Death Penalty Focus, USA
37.  Witness to Innocence, USA
38.  Abolition Death Penalty of Iraq
39.  Odhikar, Bangladesh
40.  Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Action
41.  Capital Punishment Justice Project, Australia
42.  Rescue Alternatives Liberia
43.  Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Uganda
44.  Lifespark - movement against the death penalty, Switzerland
45.  Pax Christi Uvira asbl, DRC
46.  Humanity Diaspo, France
47.  ACAT Liberia
48.  Redemption Pakistan 
49.  The Christian Union for Progress and Human Rights (UCPDHO), DRC
50.  German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP)
51.  Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
52.  ACAT Belgium
53.  ACAT Germany
54.  The Kenya Human Rights Commission 
55.  Legal Awareness Watch Pakistan
56.  Think Centre, Singapore 
57.  Recortes Cero, Spain
58.  Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat, Indonesia
59.  Lawyers For Human Rights International, India 
60.  CrimeInfo, Japan 
61.  Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU)
62. Ligue des droits de l’Homme, France
63.  ACAT Ghana
64.  International Feminist Women (iFM), Spain
65.  Federation of Women’s Associations of the Community of Madrid (FAMCM)
66. Tierra y Cultura, Spain
67. United to End Executions in Iran (UTEEIRAN) 
68.  The Youth and Justice Lab, Canada
69.  Free Human, Germany
70.  Iranian American Movements for Human Rights, San Diego 
71.  Woman, Life, Freedom Nürnberg & Erlangen e.V. 
72.  The Iranian Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Spain 
73.  Maanà Association, Italy 
74.  Solidarity With Iranians-Vancouver, Canada
75.  Andalusian Kurdish Association
76.  Justice Support Association 
77.  Woman Life Freedom Germany
78.  BRAMSH (Balochistan Women’s Voices)
79.  Iranian Human Rights Activists 
80.  Campaign To Free Jailed Workers in Iran (Free Them Now)
81.  Noran Human Rights Committee, Norway
82.  APR KVINNA LIV FRIHET
83.  Hanai Rojhelat
84.  ​​ExMuslimScandinavia