What is Hengaw?: Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016 to monitor violations in Iran's Kurdish-majority provinces. Since the Iran conflict began on 28 February 2026, it has become the principal independent source for casualty data, publishing numbered war reports tracking deaths, civilian casualties, and arrests that consistently exceed official Iranian figures by a factor of roughly four.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
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
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
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
How reliable is Hengaw's casualty data?: Hengaw counts consistently run three to four times higher than Iranian government figures, a pattern established during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests and repeated in the 2026 conflict. Its reports are used as the primary source by international media and UN Special Rapporteurs.
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
What is Hengaw and why is it important for Iran coverage?: Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016 to monitor violations in Iran's Kurdish-majority provinces. Since the Iran conflict began on 28 February 2026, it has become the principal independent source for casualty data, publishing numbered war reports that consistently run 3-4 times higher than official Iranian figures.Source: Hengaw
How many people has Hengaw said were killed in the Iran war?: Hengaw's tenth report (covering 40 days of conflict) documented 7,650 killed including 1,030 civilians and 189 minors — roughly 3.8 times the Iranian Health Ministry's official figure of approximately 2,000 over the same period.Source: Hengaw Report 10
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
Why do Hengaw death tolls differ so much from Iran's official figures?: Hengaw includes both military and civilian casualties using on-the-ground contacts and open-source intelligence, while Iran's Health Ministry publishes only civilian figures and controls the data. The fourfold gap follows the pattern established during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, when official counts ran at approximately one-quarter of independent tallies.Source: Hengaw
What is Hengaw and how does it document executions in Iran?: Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016. It monitors Iran's Kurdish-majority provinces via diaspora networks and encrypted channels, and has expanded during the 2026 conflict to document wartime executions nationally — including during Iran's 70-day-plus internet blackout.Source: Hengaw
Why do Hengaw casualty figures differ so much from Iran's official numbers?: Hengaw's counts run three to four times higher than Iranian Health Ministry figures. The same gap appeared during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, where official tallies were roughly one-quarter of independent numbers. Hengaw cross-checks through in-country contacts; the government counts only cases it acknowledges.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
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
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
Who is Hengaw and why do their Iran casualty figures differ from official counts?: Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation that operates through diaspora networks and encrypted channels, giving it coverage inside Iran even during full internet blackouts. Its casualty counts run three to four times higher than Iranian government figures, the same gap it documented during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, because it cross-references family reports, hospital contacts, and diaspora sources that official tallies exclude.Source: Hengaw / Lowdown
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
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
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

Background

Hengaw is the primary independent casualty monitor for the 2026 Iran conflict. Through the 25-27 May cluster (Day 86-88), Hengaw documented five further executions: Saman Ebrahimi and Ali Shahbazi at Kermanshah, Amirabbas Shokri at Rasht, Abdolghader Rasouli (a Kurdish prisoner) at Mahabad on 26 May, and Majid Shirzadi at Hamedan on 27 May. On 26 May, Hengaw confirmed the execution of Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, a Turkish national, on spying-for-Israel charges, the third foreign national executed since 20 May; NATO member Turkey issued no public protest. This followed the execution of two Iraqi nationals on 20 May (the first foreign nationals executed in the conflict) and the secret execution of two Kurdish PDKI prisoners at Naqadeh on 21 May. The Amnesty International register passed 200 executions for 2026 in mid-May, against 2,159 in all of 2025. The internal enforcement tempo has not paused for the Doha diplomatic track. On 23 May, Hengaw reported the execution of ESMA Zarei at Ardabil Prison after giving birth in custody; Hengaw is the sole source on this case, and no Iranian state acknowledgement has appeared. Hengaw also documented the fastest wartime capital case on record: Mojtaba Kian was arrested in March 2026 and executed 24 May, under 50 days from arrest to gallows.

Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016. It tracks killings, arrests, and rights conditions in Iran's five Kurdish-majority provinces (Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, West Azerbaijan, Lorestan) and has expanded its wartime reporting to cover executions across the whole country. Hengaw's casualty counts consistently run three to four times higher than Iranian government figures, following the same verification gap it documented during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. Iran's internet blackout, over 1,500 cumulative hours in the conflict, has not stopped Hengaw: it operates through diaspora networks and encrypted channels that provide information even during full blackout periods. Its reports are the primary source for international media, UN Special Rapporteurs, and rights organisations documenting wartime executions.

Source Material

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