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Iran Human Rights
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Iran Human Rights

Oslo-based NGO documenting Iranian executions and political persecution since 2007.

Iran Human Rights, the Oslo-based execution monitor, finalised Iran's Khordad execution count at 140 on 30 June 2026, revising its earlier tally of 134 upward in what it called a verification-lag correction, not fresh killings.

Last refreshed: 3 August 2026 · Appears in 4 active topics

Key Question

Iran is executing protest prisoners during a 60-day blackout: how is Iran Human Rights still counting?

Timeline for Iran Human Rights

#170 12 Aug
#142 30 Jun

Finalised the Khordad execution count at 140, revised up from 134

Iran Conflict 2026: 140 executions sit beneath the talks
View full timeline →

Background

Iran Human Rights (IHR, IHRNGO) is an Oslo-based NGO founded in 2007 by Dr Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, a Norwegian-Iranian neurologist. It is the principal independent monitor of Iranian executions, operating through diaspora contacts and prisoner-family networks inside the country, and distinguishes methodologically between confirmed and reported execution counts, keeping its figures conservative relative to rival trackers.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, barred from entering the country since 2005, has relied on IHR data since the organisation's founding, citing it in annual reports to the Human Rights Council. The EU treats IHR's annual execution tallies as functionally equivalent to official statistics for sanctions purposes, and the US State Department's own human rights reporting on Iran draws directly on its documentation.

IHR is distinct from two other diaspora monitors that cover similar ground: Iran HRM (Iran Human Rights Monitor) and Hengaw, a Kurdish-province specialist also based in Norway. Tehran characterises IHR as a foreign intelligence asset and has never disputed a specific case record on the merits.

Key Issues
Wartime executions

IHR's execution count keeps climbing

Iran Human Rights finalised its Khordad count, covering 22 May to 21 June 2026, at 140 executions on 30 June, six more than the 134 it had already recorded. The group frames the revision as a verification-lag correction rather than a fresh wave of killings after the Iranian month ended, since Iran's judiciary publishes no official figure IHR's tally can be checked against.

That Khordad count included 31 executions in the four days surrounding the 13-16 June Ceasefire signing, averaging one every three hours during the diplomatic peak IHR was tracking in parallel. IHR's methodology, distinguishing confirmed from reported cases, keeps its figures conservative next to rival counts such as Amnesty International's register, which had already passed 200 executions for 2026 by mid-May.

Case verification

IHR confirms individual wartime hangings

Iran Human Rights confirmed both deaths in the 4 May Mashhad hangings of Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri, executed on charges Iranian state media rebranded as Mossad involvement in a January 2026 coup attempt, putting its wartime political-execution total at 25-plus since February.

The same week, IHR confirmed Ebrahim Dolatabadi's execution just six days after sentencing, the shortest gap in its wartime register against a normal three-to-six-month appeal process. That case-by-case verification, distinct from unconfirmed claims circulating elsewhere in the record, is what gives IHR's aggregate figures their credibility with UN and EU bodies.

Common Questions

Reference

Who is Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam and what does he run?
Dr Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam is a Norwegian-Iranian neurologist who founded Iran Human Rights in Oslo in 2007. He is its executive director and primary public voice, documenting Iranian executions and political persecution through diaspora networks.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026
What is Iran Human Rights and how does it gather evidence inside Iran?
Iran Human Rights (IHR) is an Oslo-based NGO founded in 2007. It operates through diaspora contacts and prisoner-family networks inside Iran, distinguishing methodologically between confirmed and reported execution counts. The UN and EU treat its tallies as reliable independent data.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026
How does Iran Human Rights compare to Hengaw?
Both are Norway-based NGOs monitoring human rights abuses in Iran. IHR covers the whole country and specialises in execution statistics at national level. Hengaw focuses specifically on Kurdish-majority provinces and publishes detailed casualty and detention reports for those regions. Their datasets are frequently cross-referenced.Source: IHR / Hengaw
Why do the UN and EU rely on Iran Human Rights data?
The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran and EU sanctions bodies treat IHR's execution counts as functionally equivalent to official statistics because Iran denies the UN access to the country and publishes no independent judicial accountability data. IHR is the only organisation with the scale and methodology to produce a comprehensive national execution count.
Is Iran Human Rights credible?
IHR is cited as a primary source by the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Amnesty International, and EU sanctions bodies. Tehran rejects its data as fabricated but has never publicly disputed a specific case record on its methodology. Independent assessments consistently find its execution figures conservative rather than inflated.Source: IHR
What is Iran Human Rights?
Iran Human Rights (IHR/IHRNGO) is a Norwegian-registered NGO founded in 2007 by Dr Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. It is the leading independent monitor of executions and political persecution in Iran, operating from Oslo.

Recently resolved

Did Iran execute political prisoners during the 2026 war?
Iran Human Rights warned that wartime conditions were being used to accelerate political executions. In March 2026, three young men were publicly hanged in Qom on 'waging war against God' charges; one was 19 and had been sentenced fewer than three weeks after arrest.Source: IHR
Why did Iran execute so many people during the June 2026 MOU signing?
Iran Human Rights recorded 31 executions in the four days surrounding the 13-16 June MOU signing, averaging one every three hours. Analysts link the surge to the regime signalling internal strength to hardliners opposed to the deal.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026
How many people has Iran executed since the 2026 conflict began?
Iran Human Rights recorded at least 134 executions in the single month of Khordad (22 May to 21 June 2026) alone, including 31 in the four days around the MOU signing. Amnesty International's parallel register passed 200 executions for all of 2026 by mid-May.Source: Lowdown iran-conflict-2026
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