Who was Naser Bakrzadeh and why was he executed in Iran?: Naser Bakrzadeh was an Iranian man executed on 2 May 2026 on charges of spying for Israel, according to the Kurdish human rights organisation Hengaw. He was one of two individuals named in Hengaw's report that day, the other being Yaqoub Karimpour.Source: Hengaw
How many executions did Iran carry out in April 2026?: Hengaw revised April 2026's execution total to at least 26, including 14 political prisoners, as of its 2 May 2026 report. Multiple individuals have been executed on Israel-espionage charges since the conflict began in 2025.Source: Hengaw
How was Naser Bakrzadeh's case reported outside Iran?: Hengaw, the Kurdish human rights monitoring organisation, documented and published Bakrzadeh's execution on 2 May 2026 as part of its weekly reporting on executions in Iran. His case was not publicly announced by Iranian authorities.Source: Hengaw
What is Iran's pattern of executing people on Israel espionage charges?: Iran has charged and executed numerous individuals on Israel-espionage grounds since the outbreak of the 2025-26 conflict, conducting trials in closed Revolutionary Courts with limited access to independent counsel. Human rights organisations document these cases but cannot independently assess the evidence given restricted court access.Source: Hengaw / Iran Human Rights
When was Naser Bakrzadeh executed and who else was executed the same day?: Naser Bakrzadeh was executed on 2 May 2026. He was executed on the same day as Yaqoub Karimpour, also on Israel-espionage charges. Both executions were reported by Hengaw, which also revised its April 2026 tally to at least 26 executions including 14 political prisoners.Source: Hengaw

Background

Naser Bakrzadeh was executed in Iran on 2 May 2026 on charges of spying for Israel, according to the Kurdish human rights organisation Hengaw. He was among the two individuals executed on that date named in Hengaw's report, alongside Yaqoub Karimpour. Hengaw simultaneously revised its April 2026 execution tally to at least 26 executions, including 14 political prisoners, underscoring the scale of Iran's wartime use of the death penalty.

Iran has charged and executed numerous individuals on Israel-espionage grounds since the outbreak of the 2025-26 conflict. Human rights organisations including Hengaw and Iran Human Rights have documented these cases but note that trials are typically conducted in closed Revolutionary Courts with limited access to independent counsel, making it difficult to independently assess the evidence against those convicted.

Bakrzadeh's execution is part of a broader wartime pattern of Iran using espionage prosecutions to suppress dissent and signal deterrence against alleged Israeli intelligence operations inside the country. International human rights bodies have repeatedly called for a moratorium on executions in Iran, particularly in cases where confessions may have been obtained under duress.

Source Material

Hengaw — Kurdish Human Rights Organisation

How the World Sees Them

Iran

Iranian authorities characterise executions of those convicted of Israel-linked espionage as a legitimate national security response to foreign intelligence infiltration during wartime.

International human rights

Hengaw and Iran Human Rights document these executions as part of a pattern of wartime political repression, noting that convictions are obtained in closed Revolutionary Courts with restricted access to legal counsel.