Iran | Man, woman hanged in Isfahan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 1, 2025: Mahnaz Kakaei and Ali Soufian, a woman and man on death row for murder and drug-related charges, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and a man were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central prison on 29 March. The woman’s identity has been established as 24-year-old Mahnaz Kakayi who was arrested for the murder of her fiancé four years and seven months ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

The man’s identity has been established as 40-year-old Ali Soufian from Shiraz. He was arrested for drug-related offences three years ago and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mahnaz was raised by a step-mother and her father insisted she marry a man of his choosing. Mahnaz didn’t want to marry him and was accused of killing him with a knife during an argument before they married.”

At the time of writing, neither execution has been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Mahnaz Kakayi is the seventh recorded woman execution in Iran in 2025. Iran executes the highest number of women globally. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran, the highest number of recorded women executions in more than 15 years.

In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.

At the time of writing, her 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.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, April 1, 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

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