Families pressured to stay silent, with at least 24 executions reportedly taking place since March amid internet blackout

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Iran is carrying out near-daily executions of prisoners in secrecy and, in some cases, refusing to hand the bodies of the dead to their families, according to rights groups and sources close to the relatives of the dead.

Many families only learn of executions after they have been carried out, with some facing harassment and pressure not to speak publicly on the personal impact of the state killings, the sources say.

Narges Mohammadi denied medical leave from prison in spite of sharp decline in health and drastic weight loss, say lawyers

The family of the jailed Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi say they fear for her life after a sharp deterioration in her health, suspected heart attack and drop in body weight of almost 20kg (44lb).

The 54-year-old human rights activist, who was awarded the 2023 Nobel peace prize while in prison, had been released for health reasons in 2024. She was re-arrested in December 2025 during the memorial service of a fellow human rights activist and is being held in Zanjan central prison, in north-west Iran.