According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Sari Central Prison on 29 July 2025. His identity has been established as 43-year-old Mohammad Shabestan, a father of two from Sari.
He was arrested five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for a murder committed during a tribal clash by the Criminal Court.
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.
Fifth Public Hanging in Iran in 2025
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 30, 2025: State media reported the public hanging of an unnamed man for murder in Semnan.
According to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency, a man was publicly hanged in Semnan on July 30 2025. The unnamed man was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of a four-year-old girl and the attempted murder of nine other family members.
The unnamed man is the fifth person to be publicly hanged in 2025. Iran is one of the few countries in the world to carry out executions in public spaces. 2021 was the only year in more than a decade that the Islamic Republic did not carry out any public executions, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year. Public executions resumed in 2022 with two people being hanged, and in 2023 the number of public executions rose again to seven. In 2024, four people were executed in public in Iran.
Group Hanging of 4 Drug Defendants in Shiraz
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 30, 2025: Ahmad Mahdavi, Armin Gerayi, Saber Yari and an unidentified man were executed for separate drug-related charges in Shiraz Central Prison. A fifth prisoner named Abolfazl Alayi was returned to his cell for unknown reasons.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 27 July 2025. Three of the men have been identified as Ahmad Mahdavi, Armin Gerayi and Saber Yari. The fourth man’s identity has not been established at the time of writing.
They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges in separate cases.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ahmad Mahdavi was arrested three years ago, Armin Gerayi, four years ago and Saberi Yari, five years ago. Another prisoner named Abolfazl Alayi who was also on death row for drug-related charges was returned to his cell from the gallows for unknown reasons.”
At the time of writing, none of their executions have 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.
Executions in Karaj
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 30, 2025: Saeed Kashani and Naser Nazari Tehrani, two men on death row for separate murders, were executed in a group hanging of four in Ghezel Hesar Prison. Political prisoners Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani were previously reported to have been executed at the prison that day.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison on 27 July 2025. Their identities have been established as Saeed Kashani and Naser Nazari Tehrani who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
State media reported the executions of political prisoners Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsanithat day without specifying the location. According to information obtained by IHRNGO, their executions took place at Ghezel Hesar Prison.
Execution in Kermanshah
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 29, 2025: Navid Rostami, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Kermanshah (Dizel Abad) Central Prison on 29 July 2025. His identity has been established as Navid Rostami from Firouz Abad in Kermanshah.
He was arrested five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
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); July 29, 2025: Abolfazl Shakeri, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Zanjan Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 26 July 2025. His identity has been established as Abolfazl Shakeri.
He was arrested six years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, July 29-30, 2025
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
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