Skip to main content

Iran | Executions in Khorramabad, Urmia, Gorgan, Qom, Zahedan

In the first three weeks of April 2025, at least 65 people have been executed in Iranian prisons.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO): April 22, 2025: Saeed Darikvand, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Khorramabad Central Prison on 21 April 2025. His identity has been established as 29-year-old Saeed Darikvand from the Anarrou tribe in Mian Golal village in Khorramabad.

He was arrested for murder three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. Once a defendant has been convicted, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

Crucially, while an indicative amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money.

According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 419 people including a juvenile offender and 19 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 12% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2024, Iran Human Rights also recorded 649 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.


Execution in Urmia


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 21, 2025: Iran state media reported the execution of Kurdish political prisoner Hamid Hosseinnejad Haydaranlu today. According to official reports, Behzad Sarkhanlu, deputy prosecutor of Urmia, informed Hamid’s family that he had been transferred from Urmia Central Prison to Tehran and executed. His execution was carried out secretly.

Condemning Hamid Hosseinnejad Heydaranlu’s execution in the strongest terms, Iran Human Rights calls for greater international efforts to stop the Islamic Republic's execution machine.
IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated: "Hamid Hosseinnejad Heydranlu was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court without observing minimum fair trial standards. His execution is considered an extrajudicial killing and leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for this crime."

IHRNGO warned about the imminent risk of political prisoner executions over the Easter holidays and called on the international community and countries with diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic to take action to halt and overturn these sentences.

In the first three weeks of April 2025, at least 65 people have been executed in Iranian prisons.

According to Iran state media, Hamid Hosseinnejad Heydaranlu, a 40-year-old Kurdish political prisoner, was executed on 21 April 2025. He was sentenced to death on the charge of baghy (armed rebellion) based on torture-tainted confessions to membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the killing of eight security forces. He was transferred to Tehran for execution, per the deputy Urmia prosecutor.

Hamid’s execution was carried out secretly, without his family or lawyer being notified.

Following the official news, a source close to Hamid’s family told IHRNGO that according to the deputy Urmia prosecutor, Hamid’s execution was carried out in Tehran on Friday, 18 April. “The news of his execution in Tehran  took time to reach Urmia. He was probably executed in Tehran. But his case was still pending at Branch 39 of the Supreme Court, which means they weren’t informed of the execution.”

When Hamid’s family asked for his body, they were told “they haven’t sent his body for us to hand over.” According to the source, “the body will never be returned and they will probably be banned from even holding a ceremony.”

A member of Heydranlou’s family told Iran Human Rights on Monday evening that, according to the Urmia prosecutor, the execution had actually been carried out on Friday, and that “Tehran informed Urmia late, and it most likely happened in Tehran, possibly in Evin Prison. Yet the case has just today been sent for review again to Branch 39 of the Supreme Court, meaning even the court was unaware the sentence had been carried out.”

Hamid’s last visit with his family took place on Thursday, 17 April, while he was handcuffed. His last contact with his family was on Friday afternoon when he made a brief phone call in Farsi to just say “I’m alive, follow up on the case.”

Osman Mosayen, the political prisoner’s lawyer, said: “We have filed a request for retrial to stop his execution. Because Hamid is illiterate, he couldn't file the clemency request himself. After the visit, he was returned to solitary confinement.”

The lawyer added: “In 2017, eight border guards were killed in a village in West Azerbaijan Province. In 2022, Hamid Hosseinnejad Heydaranlu was arrested at his home in his own village on charges of smuggling goods. Initially, he was charged with smuggling, but later he was accused of involvement in that terrorist attack. Hamid spent 12 months in the solitary confinement cells of the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention centre in Urmia, without access to a solicitor, phone, or his family. Hamid is completely illiterate. The interrogation documents are entirely in the handwriting of the interrogator, and he merely signed them. In his first appearance before the investigator, he explicitly denied the charges, saying, ‘I did not commit this act; on that day, I was abroad.’ The armed clash reportedly occurred around 3 am, but he stated that by 11 am that same day, he had already crossed the border with his family—including his elderly mother, wife, and two children—into Turkey, with valid passports.”

Hamid Hosseinnejad Heydaranlu is 40 years old and from the Chaldoran region of Urmia where he was arrested by border forces along with several Afghan nationals on 13 April 2023 After his arrest, he was transferred to the Foreign Nationals Detention Centre and later to Ministry of Intelligence facilities in Urmia. He was held in solitary confinement for 12 months, where he was subjected to physical and psychological torture to compel him to confess to collaborating with the PKK and involvement in the 2017 armed conflict that resulted in the death of eight border forces. Hamid was sentenced to death despite evidence that he was not in Iran at the time of the armed conflict.

Execution in Gorgan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 21, 2025: Ahmad Yavari, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Gorgan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Gorgan Central Prison on 17 April 2025. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Ahmad Yavari from Gorgan who was a father to two boys.

He was arrested for murder two years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution Qom


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 21, 2025: Cheraghali Ghasemi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Qom Central Prison. With the previously reported executions of  Feizollah Karami and Sohrab Heydar, the number of executions has risen to three at the prison that day.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Qom Central Prison on 15 April 2025. His identity has been established as Cheraghali Ghasemi who lived in Malard.

He was arrested two years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

IHRNGO previously reported the executions of Feizollah Karami and Sohrab Heydar, the number of executions have risen to three at the prison that day.

At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 503 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only under 3% were announced by official sources. 17% of all drug-related executions in 2024 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.

Execution in Zahedan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 20, 2025: Sadollah Gorgij, a Baluch man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Zahedan Central Prison

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Zahedan Central Prison on 20 April 2025. His identity has been established as Sadollah Gorgij, a 29-year-old Baluch man from a village in Saravan.

He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, April 20-22, 2025




"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde


Labels:
Location: Iran

Comments

Post a Comment

Pro-DP comments will not be published.

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida Cop-killer Billy Kearse set to be executed today

A man who confessed to fatally shooting Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish with his own service weapon during a 1991 traffic stop is scheduled to be executed starting at 6 p.m. March 3, barring a last-minute stay. Billy L. Kearse, 53, will be the third person put to death by the state this year, just one week after the execution of Melvin Trotter, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford in Palmetto in 1986. The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 12 denied a motion for a stay of execution and a motion for an extension due to the fading health and death of the father of Kearse's attorney. Attorneys for Kearse have filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, citing violations of the Sixth, Eighth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.
Post a Comment
Read more

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.
Post a Comment
Read more

Former Florida officer who raped, murdered 11-year-old set to be executed

An execution date has been set for a former Mascotte police officer who, in May 1987, assaulted and murdered an 11-year-old girl.  Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for James Aren Duckett on Friday. He’s scheduled to be executed on March 31. It’ll be the state’s 5th execution this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025.  Duckett was convicted in the murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee about a year after her death. According to officials, Duckett took the 11-year-old to a lake, where he sexually battered, strangled and drowned her. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel.  King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response.  The case drew national attention and prompted w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida executes Melvin Trotter

The execution of Melvin Trotter for the murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford in 1986 comes as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor questions Florida's 'deeply troubling' lethal injection record. Florida has executed its second inmate of the year even as a Supreme Court justice questioned the state's “deeply troubling" record on lethal injections and how it "shrouds its executions in secrecy."  Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for the 1986 murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford, a mother of 4 who was on the verge of retirement when she was stabbed to death in the corner grocery store that she owned for five decades. Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. ET. 
Read more

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.
Post a Comment
Read more

Chinese courts conclude trials of 2 criminal gangs from northern Myanmar, 16 sentenced to death

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday.  At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced.  Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.
Post a Comment
Read more

Georgia | Death penalty sought against woman in brutal killing of 4-year-old

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Prosecutors in Hall County are seeking the death penalty against a woman accused of the brutal killing of a 4-year-old girl whose body was found in a parked car last fall. In a court filing Monday, the State announced its intent to pursue capital punishment for Jessica Motes, who faces a litany of charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, and first-degree cruelty to children. The case began on Oct. 26, 2025, when authorities discovered the body of 4-year-old Autumn Fox. The child’s remains were found inside the trunk of a vehicle parked at a Sam’s Club in Oakwood, approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Read more