Iranian authorities execute five individuals in latest series of capital punishments

Iranian judicial authorities announced the execution by hanging of five individuals in recent days. Three men were executed for the rape of minors; two involved a case in Qorveh from August 2024, and one involved the rape and murder of a child in Rasht in August 2025. Additionally, two men, identified as Mehrdad Mohamadinia and Askan Maleki, were executed for looting and setting fire to a mosque in Tehran during anti-government protests that occurred in December and January. The protests, initially sparked by the cost of living, escalated into wider unrest that the government blamed on foreign interference. Human rights organizations report that at least 1,639 individuals were executed in Iran in 2025, marking a record figure since 1989. International NGOs express concern over these figures, while the Iranian judiciary maintains that these sentences are carried out in accordance with national law.