Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation that documents abuses affecting people in Iran. Its reporting covers executions, arrests, detention conditions and conflict casualties. On 17 May, its documentation of arrests in Piranshahr and Dehloran showed its continuing focus on Kurdish communities in north-western Iran.

During the 2026 conflict, Hengaw also became a prominent Independent source for nationwide casualty and execution reporting. Its reports continued to identify individual cases during internet restrictions, including two executions and a custodial death reported on 18 April.

Its figures are documented minimums rather than final totals because verification occurs from outside Iran. That constraint does not remove their value: Hengaw preserves case records and makes gaps between official disclosure and independently reported deaths visible.

Key Issues

Execution monitoring

Hengaw’s tally outstrips disclosures

On 2 August, Hengaw recorded at least 67 executions in Iran during July. Iranian authorities acknowledged eight. Hengaw’s total was 39% below its June tally, but most reported deaths still fell outside official disclosure.

For Hengaw, that gap makes case-by-case documentation its live task rather than a monthly comparison. On 1 August, it documented the execution of Arvin Kheirkhahan, a 20-year-old detained during January protests, at Shahrud Central Prison. Its reporting provides a running record where state announcements remain partial.

War casualties

Hengaw records the casualty gap

During March, Hengaw’s reports became a competing account of deaths from the war. On 24 March, it documented 6,530 deaths in 25 days, against 1,750 reported by Iran’s Health Ministry.

By 8 April, Hengaw’s tenth report recorded 7,650 people killed across 27 provinces, including 1,030 civilians and 189 minors. Those figures did not settle the death toll, but they showed Hengaw’s role as an Independent counterweight during a period of restricted reporting inside Iran.

Common Questions

Reference

What are extrajudicial killings versus judicial executions in Iran in 2026?

Judicial executions go through Revolutionary Court sentences, leave a court record, and are sometimes announced by state media. Extrajudicial killings, documented by Hengaw in cases like the Veisi brothers on 28 May 2026, are IRGC field shootings with no court process, no record, and immediate deniability.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026

What is Hengaw and how does it document executions inside Iran?

Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016. It operates through diaspora networks and encrypted channels that function even during Iran's internet blackout, documenting executions, arrests, and rights conditions in Iran's Kurdish-majority provinces and, since 2026, nationally.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026

What does Hengaw document beyond casualty numbers?

Hengaw also records individual arrest cases, charging patterns (such as the 'moharebeh and Israel' charge linking domestic dissent to the conflict), the fastest capital cases on record (Mojtaba Kian: under 50 days from arrest to execution), denial of bodies to families, and the detention of lawyers and writers. It is the primary Independent source for UN Special Rapporteurs and international media.Source: Hengaw / Lowdown

Why does Hengaw report higher death tolls than Iran's government?

Hengaw includes both military and civilian casualties using on-the-ground contacts and open-source intelligence, while Iran's Health Ministry publishes civilian figures only and controls the data. The fourfold gap follows the pattern established during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, when official counts ran at one-quarter of Independent tallies.Source: Hengaw

How does Hengaw operate during Iran's internet blackout?

Hengaw operates through diaspora networks and encrypted channels maintained with contacts inside Iran, allowing it to continue documenting executions and arrests even during the 2026 conflict's 1,700-plus cumulative hours of internet blackout.Source: Hengaw

What does Hengaw document beyond casualty figures?

Beyond casualty counts, Hengaw documents wartime arrests (2,700+ recorded), executions, internet blackout effects in Kurdish provinces, and evidence of Iranian military forces relocating into civilian spaces including schools, dormitories, and mosques.Source: Hengaw

How does Hengaw count deaths in Iran during the internet blackout?

Hengaw operates through diaspora networks and encrypted messaging channels developed during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, bypassing Iran's internet restrictions. Its verification framework functions during full blackout periods and is used by UN Special Rapporteurs and international media as the primary Independent source.Source: Hengaw

Has Iran executed more protesters in July 2026?

Yes. Hengaw documented three protest-linked executions across Isfahan and Karaj on 15-16 July 2026, and reported 12 further Isfahan detainee files that had reached the Revolutionary Court's enforcement unit.Source: event

Who was Mohammad Amini Dehaghani?

A January 2026 protest detainee whose secret execution in Isfahan Province on 15 July 2026 was documented by Hengaw; his arrest and trial were never made public.Source: event

How many executions has Hengaw documented in Iran's Kurdish provinces in 2026?

Hengaw has documented dozens of executions in Iran's Kurdish-majority provinces since the conflict began, including secret hangings at Naqadeh, Sanandaj, Bukan, Mahabad, and Kermanshah. It also confirmed the extrajudicial shooting of Kurdish border communities in the 28-30 May 2026 window.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026

Has Iran executed any foreign nationals during the 2026 war?

Yes. Three foreign nationals have been executed on spying-for-Israel charges: two unnamed Iraqi nationals on 20 May 2026 (the first foreign nationals executed in the conflict), and Turkish national Gholamreza Khani Shakarab on 26 May. NATO member Turkey issued no public protest over Shakarab's execution.Source: Hengaw / Amnesty International

How many people has Iran executed during the 2026 conflict?

The Amnesty International register passed 200 executions for 2026 in mid-May, against 2,159 in all of 2025. Hengaw's monitoring identified a surge in the 21-27 May window including two Iraqi nationals, a Turkish national (Shakarab, 26 May), and five further executions across Kermanshah, Rasht, Mahabad, and Hamedan.Source: Hengaw / Amnesty International

What was the Esma Zarei execution case in Iran?

Hengaw reported on 23 May 2026 that Esma Zarei was executed at Ardabil Prison after giving birth in custody. Hengaw is the sole source; no Independent confirmation or Iranian state acknowledgement has appeared. The case is part of a pattern of executions documented during the Doha diplomatic track.Source: Hengaw

Which prisons appeared in Iran's wartime execution register on 13 May 2026?

On 13 May, Hengaw documented seven executions across five prisons: Birjand, Tabriz, Kerman, and Gorgan (two executions). Gorgan appeared in the wartime execution register for the first time. The cluster also included a separately confirmed execution at Urmia.Source: Hengaw

What is the 'moharebeh and Israel' charge Iran is using against dissidents?

Since May 2026 Hengaw has documented a new charging pattern combining moharebeh (waging war against God, a capital offence) with explicit Israel-linkage allegations — applied to domestic dissidents. The first documented case was Najmeh Amini in Mashhad on 9 May 2026. It reframes protest activity as wartime treason.Source: Hengaw

What new Iran execution charges has Hengaw documented in May 2026?

Hengaw documented a new 'moharebeh and Israel' charge filed against Najmeh Amini in Mashhad on 9 May 2026 — combining a capital offence with a wartime-loyalty framing that explicitly links domestic dissent to the Israel-Iran conflict. This followed the execution of Naser Bakrzadeh and Yaqoub Karimpour on spying-for-Israel charges on 5 May.Source: Hengaw

What has Hengaw reported in April 2026?

Hengaw confirmed the 27 April execution of Jafar Fakhrabadi at Yazd Central Prison and the transfer of three Ali Fahim co-defendants to solitary at Qezel Hesar Prison — both indicators of Iran's ongoing wartime execution of protest-era detainees.Source: Hengaw

How many people has Hengaw counted dead in the Iran war?

Hengaw's tenth report (covering 40 days of conflict) documented 7,650 killed including 1,030 civilians and 189 minors. This is roughly 3.8 times the Iranian Health Ministry's official figure of approximately 2,000 over the same period.Source: Hengaw Report 10

Has Hengaw stopped publishing reports during the Iran war?

Hengaw went silent twice: for five days after Day 25 of the conflict, and again when its tenth report ran seven days overdue in April 2026. Both gaps raised concern among analysts given it is the most credible Independent casualty counter, and each time the organisation eventually resumed publishing.Source: Lowdown

Source Material

Amnesty International, Iran Hengaw — Wikipedia Reuters Middle East coverage citing Hengaw casualty data Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights — Official Website