Young boy used to carry out public execution in Iran early this morning

Iran Human Rights, May 26: A man was hanged in public in the city of Qazvin, west of Tehran, early this morning.

According to the official Iranian news agencies the man who was identified as "Mehdi Faraji" (37) was hanged in public, in the beginning of Qazvin’s "Isfahan street" early this morning.

Mehdi Faraji was convicted of murdering five women between May 2009 and March 2010.

This is the eighth public hanging that has taken in May 2011 in Iran.

According to our reports a young boy (minor) was used to draw the chair Mehdi was standing on and carry out the execution. The picture on the left shows the boy (arrow) while carrying out the execution.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights strongly condemned today’s execution and said : "These barbaric executions and using ordinary citizens, especially the minors to conduct these executions must be condemned by the world community". He added : "Iranian leaders must be held accountable for promoting a culture of murder and brutality in Iran".

Source: Iran Human Rights, May 26, 2011 - h] [فارسى]

May 29, 2011 Update
Iranian authorities react to IHR’s report: The man who carried out the public execution was 23 years old

Source: Iran Human Rights

Iran Human Rights, May 28: Iran Human Rights (IHR) had published a report (above) on May 26th regarding the public execution of "Mehdi Faraji" in Qazvin titled: "Young boy was used to carry out execution of a man in public in Iran". The information was based on eyewitness reports who said, "A young boy was used to draw the chair Mehdi was standing on and carry out the execution."

In the statement, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the international spokesperson of IHR said, “These barbaric executions and using ordinary citizens, especially minors, to carry out the executions must be condemned by the world community.” He added, “Iranian leaders must be held accountable for promoting a culture of murder and brutality in Iran”.

In reaction to IHR’s report, Ebrat News, a site close to the Iranian authorities revealed more details about the execution in Qazvin. According to the site, the young man who carried out the execution was identified as Ali, 23, the son of Kimia, one of the women allegedly murdered by Mehdi. Ebrat News wrote: “The man was not a minor as claimed by some sites…so-called human rights defenders have forgotten that, according to the qesas (retribution/eye-for-an-eye) law in a murder case [in Iran], the execution must be carried out by the family or the oldest child of the offended”.

Source: Iran Human Rights

“The age of the young man used to carry out the execution does not change the fundamental issues surrounding the case. In addition to the main issue of execution, it is very serious that Iranian authorities use ordinary citizens to carry out inhumane punishments. By doing so, Iranian authorities place tremendous responsibility on the shoulders of its citizens. In this case, a young man who is grieving the loss of his mother has to also now have the responsibility of death on his shoulders. This is shameful and disgusting,” said the spokesperson of IHR Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

“The young man’s mother was a victim of the growing violence and brutality in the Iranian society. Iranian authorities promote brutality by practicing brutal punishments in public,” he added. Qesas ‘retribution’, or an eye-for-an-eye, is considered fair punishment by Iranian authorities

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said about the retribution ‘eye-for-an-eye’ law, “Retribution is one of the few ‘rights’ given by Iranian authorities to its citizens. The Iranian government deprives its citizens of basic human rights like, freedom of speech, thought and choice, and even personal rights like how to dress, but the ‘rights’ of citizens to carry out executions or blind with acid are insisted on and encouraged.”

Source: Iran Human Rights, May 29, 2011 - [فارسى]
_________________________

Use the tags below or the search engine at the top of this page to find updates, older or related articles on this Website.

Comments

Saudi Arabia executed 356 people in 2025, highest number on record

Analysts attribute increase to kingdom’s ‘war on drugs’ as authorities kill 356 people by death penalty Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, setting a new record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year. Analysts have largely attributed the increase in executions to Riyadh’s “war on drugs”, with some of those arrested in previous years only now being executed after legal proceedings and convictions. Official data released by the Saudi government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in 2025 alone, according to a tally kept by Agence France-Presse.

The US reporter who has witnessed 14 executions: ‘People need to know what it looks like’

South Carolina-based journalist Jeffrey Collins observed back-to-back executions in 2025 after the state revived the death penalty following a 13-year pause Jeffrey Collins has watched 14 men draw their final breaths. Over 25 years at the Associated Press, the South Carolina-based journalist has repeatedly served as an observer inside the state’s execution chamber, watching from feet away as prison officials kill men who were sentenced to capital punishment. South Carolina has recently kept him unusually busy, with seven back-to-back executions in 14 months.

Georgia parole board suspends scheduled execution of Cobb County death row prisoner

The execution of a Georgia man scheduled for Wednesday has been suspended as the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considers a clemency application. Stacey Humphreys, 52, would have been the state's first execution in 2025. As of December 16, 2025, Georgia has carried out zero executions in 2025. The state last executed an inmate in January 2020, followed by a pause due to COVID-19. Executions resumed in 2024, but none have occurred this year until now. Humphreys had been sentenced to death for the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown, who were fatally shot at the real estate office where they worked.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

M Ravi, the man who defied Singapore regime's harassment, dies

M Ravi never gave up despite the odds stacked against him by the Singapore regime, which has always used its grip on the legal process to silence critics. M Ravi, one of Singapore's best-known personalities who was at the forefront of legal cases challenging the PAP regime over human rights violations, has died. He was 56. The news has come as a shock to friends and activists. Singapore's The Straits Times reported that police were investigating the "unnatural death".

Iran | Executions in Shiraz, Borazjan, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Ardabil, Rasht, Ghaemshahr, Neishabur

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 23, 2025: Mahin Rashidi, Abbas Alami, Naser Faraji, Tohid Barzegar and Jamshid Amirfazli, five co-defendants on death row for drug-related offences, were secretly executed in a group hanging in Shiraz Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men and a woman were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 17 December 2025. Their identities have been established as Mahin Rashidi, a 39-year-old woman, Abbas Alami, 43, Naser Faraji, 38, Tohid Barzegar, 51, and Jamshid Amirfazli, 45, all Kashan natives.

USA | Justice Department Encourages New Capital Charges Against Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners

On Dec. 23, 2024, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. commuted the sentences of nearly all federal death row prisoners, sparing 37 men from execution. Just 28 days later, on Jan. 20, 2025, newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order encouraging state and local prosecutors to pursue new charges against those same prisoners, reopening the possibility of capital punishment in state courts.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Singapore | Prolific lawyer M Ravi, known for drug death-penalty cases, found dead

Ravi Madasamy, a high-profile lawyer who represented death-row inmates and campaigned against capital punishment, was found dead in the early hours, prompting a police investigation into an unnatural death KUALA LUMPUR — Prolific Singapore lawyer Ravi Madasamy who tried to save Malaysian drug traffickers from the gallows found dead in the early hours with police investigating a case of unnatural death. Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, who had previously represented 56-year-old Ravi in court and described him as a friend, said he was deeply saddened by the news.

California | Convicted killer Scott Peterson keeps swinging in court — but expert says he’s not going anywhere but his cell

More than two decades after Laci Peterson vanished from her Modesto, California, home, the murder case that captivated the nation continues to draw legal challenges, public debate and renewed attention. As the year comes to a close, Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son Conner, remains behind bars, serving life without the possibility of parole. His wife disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002, and a few months later, the remains of Laci and Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog