Iran | Executions in Yazd, Sanandaj

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 20, 2025: Mojtaba Mansouri, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Yazd Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Yazd Central Prison on 18 May 2025. His identity has been established as Mojtaba Mansouri, a 44-year-old man from Ardakan who worked in real estate prior to his arrest.

He was arrested three 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.

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. In the first four months of 2025, at least 169 people were hanged for drug-related offences.

Execution in Sanandaj

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 20, 2025: Gouran Ghaderi, a Kurdish man on death row for murder, was executed in Sanandaj Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Sanandaj Central Prison on 20 May 2025. His identity has been established as Gouran Ghaderi, a 37-year-old Kurdish man arrested around three years ago. He was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

State media have also reported his execution.

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. Should the victim’s family choose execution, they are not only encouraged to attend, but also to physically carry out the execution themselves.

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.

In the first four months of 2025, at least 153 people were executed for murder charges in Iran, per IHRNGO data.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, May 20, 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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