Iran | Executions in Ahvaz, Tabriz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 10, 2025: July 10, 2025: Majid Rahmani, an Arab man on death row for murder, was executed in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison on 8 July 2025. His identity has been established as Majid Rahmani, a 35-year-old Arab man from Masjed Soleiman.

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.

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 six months of 2025, at least 268 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.

Executions in Tabriz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 7, 2025: Amin Khosravi and Saeed Assadzadeh, two co-defendants sentenced to death on drug-related and murder charges, were executed in Tabriz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 7 July 2025. Their identities have been established as Amin Khosravi, a 38-year-old father of one and Saeed Assadzadeh, a 43-year-old father of two. They were arrested three years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges and qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of an officer while escaping.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Amin and Saeed were arrested for drug-related offences on the Tabriz-Zanjan motorway. There was a car chase while they were trying to arrest them, with an officer losing his life. It’s not clear whether they were executed for the drug or murder charges.”

At the time of writing, their executions have 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 six months of 2025, at least 293 people were executed for drug-related offences.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, July 7-10, 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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