KABUL/TEHRAN, Apr 4: Troubled with the marked rise in the number of executions of Afghan nationals by Iran, Abdul Malik Haqqani, the administrative deputy of the Taliban’s Supreme Court, visited Tehran and urged Iranian officials to show leniency toward Afghan prisoners.
He advocated for alternative punishment modes other than the death penalty. In addition, Haqqani also requested that Iran share a list of Afghan death row inmates.
So far, over 21 Afghan nationals were executed in just the first quarter of 2025 across various Iranian prisons in areas such as Qezel Hesar in Karaj, as well as central facilities in Zahedan, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Gorgan, Isfahan and Boroujerd, mostly on charges of drug trafficking.
The surge in numbers has coincided with the coming to power of the Taliban regime in Kabul in 2021, hinting that the rise in these numbers could possibly be linked to the political shift, according to Khaama News.
According to an earlier report filed by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, the number is likely to be significantly higher as many executions are not officially announced by Iranian authorities.
Afghan prisoners, the organisation noted, often lack access to legal representation and are unable to communicate their status to the outside world. Many have no family support in Iran and remain largely invisible within the prison system, as per Amu TV.
The report stated that over 80 nationals were executed in 2024, adding that Afghans represent the largest segment of non-Iranian nationals facing capital punishment in the country.
The international community too has expressed deep concern over these executions, with the United Nations also calling for investigations into reports of Afghan casualties along the Iran-Afghanistan border, emphasising the need to protect migrant rights under international law. (UNI)
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