Iran | Executions in Shiraz, Ahvaz, Qom, Zanjan, Arak

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 21, 2025: Teimur Pouladvand, Nezam Moradi, Mahmoud Dehghan and Ali Akbar Younesi were executed in a group hanging in Shiraz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 17 June 2025. One of the men who was on death row for drug-related offences has been identified as Teimur Pouldvand from Aligudarz. He was arrested three years ago.

Two of the men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identities have been established as Mahmoud Dehghan from Shiraz and Nezam Moradi, a 34-year-old father from Mashhad. They were on death row for six and five years ago respectively.

The fourth man has been identified as Ali Akbar Younesi, a 30-year-old man from Jahrom. He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death on rape charges.

At the time of writing, their executions have 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 Ahvaz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 21, 2025: Ahmad Nazemi, an Ahvazi Arab man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison on 16 June 2025. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Ahmad Nazemi, an Ahvaz Arab man from Dezful.

He was sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

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.

Execution in Qom

Execution in Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 21, 2025: Hossein Haghverdi, a man on death row for the murder of an IRGC member, was executed in Qom Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Qom Central Prison on 18 June 2025. His identity has been established 33-year-old Hossein Haghverdi from Shahriar.

He was arrested for the murder of an IRGC member 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 20, 2025: Jafar Ezati, 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 15 June 2025. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Jafar Ezati from Zanjan.

He was arrested three years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

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

Executions in Arak

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 19, 2025: Davoud Alinejad and Ali Rezaei, two men on death row for drug-related and murder charges respectively, were executed in Arak Central Prison. Ali Rezaei was unable to pay the blood money amount demanded by the victim’s family.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Arak Central Prison on 8 June 2025. His identity has been established as Davoud Alinejad who was arrested six years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

On 10 June, another man identified as Ali Rezaei was hanged at the prison.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ali was arrested for a murder committed during a street fight five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. He had a six-year-old daughter. The victim’s family had demanded 50 billion tomans (approximately €500,000) as blood money which Ali’s family couldn’t provide.”

At the time of writing, neither of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, June 19-21, 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

Comments

Tennessee Woman Christa Pike Survives Lethal Injection, Ends Up in Hospital; Governor Halts Executions

Tennessee unable to carry out the execution by lethal injection of Christa Gail Pike Tennessee officials were unable to put Christa Gail Pike to death for a 1995 murder Wednesday, media witnesses said, after the lethal injection was halted for hours as courts considered a last-minute appeal of what would have been the state's 1st execution of a woman in at least 200 years. Pike, 50, had been scheduled for execution for a killing she committed at age 18 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned an appeals court ruling that stopped the lethal injection just an hour before it was to start. Officials then attempted to go ahead with it as planned.

Florida | He executed death row prisoners. Then they came back to haunt him

Dunnellon, Florida—Every night, one of the men Ron McAndrew killed would sit at the foot of his bed and stare, blankly, into his tortured soul. He knew they were coming. He’d shift over in his sheets to make room. “They never said anything,” McAndrew recalls, his aged voice straining from the weight of the memory. “They just sat there and looked at me.” But their eyes would talk. They would ask, "How could you do such a thing?’” says McAndrew. “You always claimed to be a good person. And now you’re killing people.”

Tennessee | Governor permits Christa Pike execution: 'I am upholding the sentence'

Gov. Bill Lee does not plan to stop Christa Pike's execution. Pike, 50, is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. “After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene," Lee said in a statement released Sept. 28. Pike's attorneys lamented the news.

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Florida executes Curtis Beasley

A 77-year-old man convicted of killing a woman with a hammer has become the 16th person executed this year in Florida A 77-year-old Florida man was put to death Tuesday for his conviction in a deadly hammer attack on a woman decades ago, becoming the 16th person executed to date this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber. Curtis Wilkie Beasley was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of 1st-degree murder, robbery, and grand theft auto in the 1995 hammer attack on Carolyn Monfort at her home south of Orlando.

Indiana plans to proceed with execution after botched Tennessee attempt

Indiana prison officials plan to proceed with Jeffrey Weisheit’s Nov. 5 execution after a botched lethal injection in Tennessee prompted that state’s governor to halt executions and order an independent review. The Indiana Department of Correction said Thursday that it remains confident in its procedures despite using the same protocol as Tennessee. Agency officials offered no additional details about the training of those administering lethal injections, the role of medical personnel, or safeguards for execution drugs.

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade. On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar. According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog