At dawn on Sunday, November 10, 2024, a woman was executed by hanging in the Central Prison of Tabriz. Mahrokh Khani, 35, had been sentenced to death on charges related to drug offenses.
Mahrokh Khani and a 45-year-old man named Kazem Babaei were both hanged in the Central Prison of Tabriz. Khani had been arrested five years ago and subsequently sentenced to death. Before her arrest, she worked in a sewing workshop.
As of the time this report was prepared, the executions had not been announced in state media or on judiciary-affiliated websites.
26 women executed in 2024
The Iranian regime is the world’s top record holder of executions of women.
According to the data recorded by the NCRI Women’s Committee, at least 255 women have been executed in Iran since 2007.
The number of women executed in Iran has sharply increased over the past year, with 33 executions of women recorded between October 2023 and October 2024. This marks a troubling rise from previous years, up from 19 women executed in 2022–2023 and 21 in 2021–2022.
The current year’s figure is particularly alarming, surpassing the average rate of 21 executions under Ebrahim Raisi by 12 and more than double the annual average of 15 under former president Hassan Rouhani.
Given the clandestine nature of executions and the lack of public announcement by the judiciary, it is evident that the actual number is higher than reported.
This surge underscores the Iranian regime’s growing use of capital punishment, including against women—an escalation in human rights abuses now seen under the administration of Masoud Pezeshkian.
The total number of executions in Iran in 2024 has surpassed 750, so far, with more than 460 prisoners including 15 women executed since Pezeshkian took office.
It further proves that regardless of who holds the presidency, the rights of the Iranian people, especially women, continue to be trampled.
