Stopping Executions. Defending the Vulnerable

The Death Penalty in Iran – A Tool of Fear, Not Justice

In Iran, the death penalty is wielded not as a form of justice but as a calculated tool of political repression. Rather than uphold the rule of law, the regime uses executions to silence dissent, intimidate ethnic and religious minorities, and instil fear in the population. Trials are often held in secret, with defendants denied legal representation and convicted based on forced confessions. Charges like “enmity against God” and “corruption on Earth” are intentionally vague, allowing the state to eliminate critics at will. Children, protesters, and ordinary citizens can all become targets. This is not justice — it is state violence in its most final form.

At-Risk Voices – Brave Lives in the Shadow of Execution

Those facing execution in Iran are often peaceful individuals whose only crime is demanding freedom. Political prisoners like Sharifeh Mohammadi were arrested on vague charges and denied fair trials, condemned for their activism or associations. Many others — writers, ethnic minorities, environmentalists, and even teenagers — await execution in silence. Yet within these prisons, a quiet resistance continues. Movements like No to Execution Tuesdays, often led by the prisoners themselves, challenge the regime’s brutality from within. These are not faceless cases; they are voices of defiance that call on us to act.

What You Can Do – How ILA Defends Life and How You Can Help

The International Liberty Association works tirelessly to defend those at risk of execution in Iran. We respond rapidly to urgent cases, launching advocacy campaigns, media alerts, and petitions to mobilise international pressure. We also support the families of prisoners, many of whom are targeted themselves, offering both moral and practical help. Through ongoing engagement with parliamentarians, NGOs, and the public, we expose injustices and push for accountability. Our rallies, conferences, and outreach efforts ensure that these prisoners are not forgotten. You can be part of this effort — to save lives and uphold the value of every human voice.

Women in Iran face deeply rooted, institutionalised oppression that governs nearly every part of their lives

A vast enforcement network of 27 agencies—including the notorious morality police—police strict dress codes like the compulsory hijab. Women are regularly harassed, arrested, or violently punished for perceived non-compliance. Beyond appearance, legal inequalities persist in marriage, divorce, and inheritance laws, where women’s voices carry less legal weight than men’s. This systemic misogyny not only restricts freedoms but exposes women to daily violence and humiliation.

Maryam Akbari Monfared – Free After 17 Years of Unjust Imprisonment

Maryam Akbari Monfared, imprisoned since 2009 for seeking justice for her executed siblings, was finally freed on April 8, 2026, after 17 years behind bars — without a single day of leave. Despite enduring solitary confinement, denial of medical care, and being separated from her children, she never stopped demanding justice. Her courage and persistence made her a symbol of resistance — and a target of a regime that fears truth-tellers. Her release is a victory for all those who refused to stay silent.

This brutality is not limited to a few high-profile cases—it is widespread and deliberate

After the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022, Iranian women led protests demanding freedom and dignity. The regime responded with a wave of arrests, torture, and even executions. Girls as young as school age were monitored through facial recognition, tracked via surveillance, and punished for defying dress codes. Through both violence and technology, Iran’s leadership wages a war against women’s autonomy—and yet, the fightback continues, led by the women themselves.

Campaign for Children’s Rights

Child Marriage:

The law allows girls to be wed at the age of 13. If she’s 9, it’s still allowed if a judge or the father approves.

Sending Children to War:

Thousands of children are sent to conflict zones. Death and paralysis are the inevitable consequences.

Child Labour:

Children suffer physical and psychological damage.

Child Marriage

In Iran, young girls are able to legally marry at the age of thirteen. However, this can be overridden by th judges and parents to allow girls to marry as young as the age of nine. According to the latest figures, 31,379 of the registered marriages in Iran in 2020 were with girls between the ages of 10 – 14. there can often be extreme psychological risks in marrying young. A study conducted and reported in the Journal of Pediatrics found that those who marry younger than the age of eighteen are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. The risk for mental health disorders increases by 41% when marrying under the age of 18.

Iran has laws that condone the marriage of children at the age of thirteen and make it more difficult for wives to divorce their husbands. This combination of laws forces women to feel inferior to men and out of control in their personal lives; however, the laws are still in existence because the regime suppresses the society through such laws.

Many girls are unable to talk about their experiences because they are afraid of their husbands and what they might do to them. Here is the account of report where one investigator was able to encourage one girl to speak.

Here is the account of report where one investigator was able to encourage a girl to speak.

Maryam (12)

(interviewer) “I get close to here gradually and ask how she is. She does not respond and keeps her head down. I introduce myself and tell her that I am collecting information about the difficulties of child marriage hoping to bring an end to this awful calamity. When I hugged her she began to cry. She eventually calmed down and asked, ‘auntie, do you think there is hope?’ I said sure, there is hope.”

She is 12 years old and carrying the pain and suffering of years of injustice. She has been married for three years, of course if you could call it a marriage.

Her first sentence was, ‘I wish I was dead and forgotten’.
She told me she had nightmares every night.

“My husband would either hit me or force me to do heavy work. I don’t know anything about a married life. I wake up many times during the night because of the nightmares. I am very lonely.”

“My only dream is that no other girl is subjected to what I have been to. This is very hard, do you know what I mean?”

Child labour

It is estimated that there are at least 4 million child labourers in Iran. This year (2021) two million children have dropped out of school because of Covid19, poverty, and a lack of educational facilities.

Thousands of children are trafficked by the Iran Revolutionary Guards into Arab countries. They face exploitation and sexual abuse and are enslaved.

Amir (14)

was a top student at school. I liked studying and wanted to become an engineer. My father was killed with a direct bullet at his head during the 2019 fuel protests. My mother does not have the ability to pay for school expenses, and more importantly we didn’t have anything to eat.

“I was forced to work to help my mother for earning the meagre money we needed to have at least some bread for eating.

“At work, I feel shame and want to keep my head down when I come across my former classmates. I don’t like them to see me like this. That’s why I always keep my head down and look at the ground. I regret that I am not in their place and envy them. Everything looks so dark for me.

“I am proud of my father who stood up against this injustice.

Child soldier

Thousands of children in Iran are coerced into military service. Many are maimed or killed, some are sexually abused and many survivors take their own lives. These children are brainwashed into believing they are sinners and that martyrdom in war will purge them of their sins.

They are made to wear green headbands imprinted with the words, “Khameni is the leader”

To glorify this treatment of children, the Iranian authorities have allocated a day (30th October) to commemorate the death of Hossein Fahmideh, a much-publicised child soldier, killed in the war.

During the 1980s at least half a million children were sent to the Iran-Iraq war front. According to regime’s official figures at least 36,000 children were killed in that war. The actual figure is believed to be much higher.