Iran | Executions in Maragheh, Ardabil, Ahar, Zanjan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 12, 2025: Alireza Heidarzadeh, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Maragheh Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Maragheh Prison on 8 June 2025. His identity has been established 29-year-old Alireza Heidarzadeh who was arrested four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Alireza was arrested for the murder of his cousin (paternal uncle’s son). They got into a fight over a girl they both liked and the victim hit his head on the street curb during the fight. He died from a cerebral haemorrhage. The family of his uncle refused to forgo execution.”

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. 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 five months of 2025, at least 233 people were executed for murder charges in Iran, per IHRNGO data.

Execution in Ardabil

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 12, 2025: Shahin Karami, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Ardabil Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Ardabil Central Prison on 11 June 2025. His identity has been established as 27-year-old Shahin Karami.

He was arrested for the murder of his fiancé five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. He was transferred to the gallows from Ward 1 of the prison.

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

Execution in Ahar

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 12, 2025: Naghi Soufian, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Ahar Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Ahar Prison on 11 June 2025. His identity has been established as Naghi Soufian, a 28-year-old man from Zanjan.

He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

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

Execution in Zanjan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 12, 2025: Morad Rezayi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Zanjan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 10 June 2025. His identity has been established as Morad Rezayi from Kouhdasht in Lorestan province.

He was arrested five 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 five months of 2025, at least 244 people were hanged for drug-related offences.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, June 12, 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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Florida executes Dominick Occhicone

Florida executes 2 men in a day. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has made Florida's death chamber the nation’s busiest at the end of his final term. STARKE, Fla. — Florida on Tuesday became the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions in a single day, the last an 80-year-old man who was the second-oldest inmate known to receive a lethal injection in modern U.S. history. Hours earlier, the state executed a former police officer convicted of killing a young girl.

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