Call by 84 human rights organizations and institutions to protest the execution of Afghan citizens in Iran

The execution of Afghan citizens in Iran has seen a sharp rise in recent years. In 2024 alone, at least 80 Afghan men were executed in Iran—three times more than the previous year. These executions are carried out in near-complete silence; of the 80 executions in 2024, only six were officially announced by Iranian sources.

This trend has continued into the current year. In the first five months of 2025, at least 32 Afghan nationals were executed in Iranian prisons.

The Islamic Republic has consistently demonstrated a willingness to execute the most impoverished and marginalized individuals—those whose state-sanctioned killings carry little political cost.

Given the current political situation in Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran does not consider itself obligated to provide Afghan defendants with consular access. If the political cost of these executions remains low, there is a serious risk that dozens more Afghan citizens may be executed in the coming months on various charges.

We stress that trials—especially those that can result in death sentences—are fundamentally unfair in the Islamic Republic’s judicial system, and often rely on confessions extracted under torture.

Moreover, the growing wave of xenophobia and anti-Afghan sentiment—fueled by the regime itself to divert public attention from its economic mismanagement—has created an environment in which the political cost of executing Afghan nationals is reduced even further.

We, the undersigned organizations, call on all human rights institutions, political activists, and the general public to raise their voices in any way possible against the execution of Afghan citizens in Iran. We also urge the international community to respond appropriately and take action to stop this ongoing pattern of executions.

Signatories:

1. Iran Human Rights
2. World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
3. Impact Iran
4. Global Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty in Iran
5. International Committee Against Execution
6. Defenders of Human Rights Center (Shirin Ebadi)
7. Justice for Iran
8. Together Against the Death Penalty
9. Human Rights Advocates, USA
10. Harm Reduction International
11. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network
12. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
13. Kurdpa Human Rights Organization
14. Kurdistan Human Rights Association – Geneva
15. United for Iran
16. 6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network)
17. Youth and Justice Studies Center, Canada
18. Hana Human Rights Organization
19. Hal Vash
20. Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran
21. Baloch Activists Campaign
22. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
23. Kurdistan Human Rights Network
24. Center for Human Rights in Iran
25. Siamak Pourzand Foundation
26. International Development and Education Organization
27. Balochistan Human Rights Group
28. League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran
29. Resanak
30. All Human Rights for All in Iran
31. United Against Executions in Iran
32. Karon Human Rights Organization
33. Azerbaijani Human Rights Organization in Iran (AHRAZ)
34. Public Interest Foundation, USA
35. Focus on the Death Penalty, USA
36. Witness to Innocence, USA
37. Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty
38. Odhikar, Bangladesh
39. Innocence and Death Penalty Action, Japan
40. Justice in Punishment Project, Australia
41. Coalition to End the Death Penalty, Taiwan
42. Rescue Alternatives Liberia
43. Human Rights Initiative Foundation, Uganda
44. Lifespark – Anti-Death Penalty Movement, Switzerland
45. Pax Christi Uvira, Democratic Republic of Congo
46. Humanité Diaspo, France
47. ACAT Liberia
48. The Rescue Organization, Pakistan
49. Christian Union for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, DR Congo
50. German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
51. Parliamentarians for Global Action
52. ACAT Belgium
53. ACAT Germany
54. Kenya Human Rights Commission
55. Legal Awareness Watch, Pakistan
56. The Thinking Center, Singapore
57. Recortes Cero (No to Public Service Cuts), Spain
58. Legal Aid Institute for Communities, Indonesia
59. International Human Rights Lawyers, India
60. CrimeInfo, Japan
61. Italian Federation for Human Rights
62. Human Rights League, France
63. ACAT Ghana
64. International Feminist Women, Spain
65. Federation of Women’s Associations of the Madrid Community
66. Land and Culture Association, Spain
67. Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners
68. Alliance Against Gender Apartheid
69. Free Human, Germany
70. San Diego Human Rights Foundation
71. Women, Life, Freedom Association Nuremberg-Erlangen
72. Iranian Human Rights Association in Spain
73. Mana Association, Italy
74. Solidarity with Iranians – Vancouver, Canada
75. Kurdish Association of Andalusia
76. Justice Supporters Association
77. Women, Life, Freedom Germany
78. Barmes (Voice of Baloch Women)
79. Iranian Human Rights Activists
80. Campaign for the Freedom of Imprisoned Workers in Iran
81. Noran Human Rights Committee, Norway
82. Women, Life, Freedom Gothenburg Group, Sweden
83. Hana Organization – Rojhelat
84. Ex-Muslim Scandinavia Network