Iran | Executions in Khorramabad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Dezful, Sari

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 19, 2025: Ali Omidi Moghaddam and Iman Jozi, two men on death row for separate murder, were executed in Khorramabad Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Khorramabad Central Prison on 17 August 2025. Their identities have been established as 36-year-old Ali Omidi Moghaddam and 32-year-old Iman Jozi. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder in separate cases by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ali was from the village of Doab in Visian and was arrested for a murder during a street fight around seven years ago. Iman was from Visian and arrested five years ago.

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 seven months of 2025, at least 310 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.

Executions in Shiraz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 18, 2025: Ahmadreza Younesi, Mehdi Najafi and Salar Rahimzadeh, three men on death row for separate murder, were executed in Shiraz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 17 August 2025. Their identities have been established as 28-year-old Ahmadreza Younesi from Kavar, 26-year-old Mehdi Najafi from Marvdasht and 38-year-old Salar Rahimzadeh from Mashhad. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder in separate cases by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ahmad Younesi and Mehdi were arrested for murders that had occurred during street fights. Mehdi was arrested around six years ago and Salar was arrested four years ago.”

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution in Isfahan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 18, 2025: Behrouz Sedghi and Arash Mahjoor, two men on death row for separate murder, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 18 August 2025. Their identities have been established as 28-year-old Behrouz Sedghi and 36-year-old Arash Mahjoor, both Isfahan natives.

Behrouz was arrested for a murder in the course of a street fight four years ago and Arash was arrested six years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder in separate cases by the Criminal Court.

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution in Dezful

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 18, 2025: Hamid Sarlak, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Dezful Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Dezful Prison on 12 August 2025. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Hamed Sarlak from Dasht Azadegan.

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.

Execution in Sari

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 18, 2025: Houshang Fathi and Siamand Saadati, two men on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Sari Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Sari Central Prison on 16 August 2025. Their identities have been established as 30-year-old Houshang Fathi and 41-year-old Siamand Saadati.

Houshang was arrested three years ago and Siamand was arrested for carrying 130 kilograms of unknown narcotics. They were both sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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. At least 347 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first seven months of 2025.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, August 18-19, 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

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Kuwait | New Anti-Drug Law Introduces Death Penalty, Surprise Testing, and Strict Enforcement

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: Divorce rates in Kuwait are rising, with recent statistics indicating that addiction—particularly among wives—has become a significant contributing factor. In response, authorities are preparing to introduce surprise premarital drug testing as part of a broader set of reforms under Kuwait’s new drug law. The countdown has officially begun for the enforcement of this new legislation, which was drafted by a judicial committee formed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef. The committee is headed by Counselor Mohammed Rashid Al-Duaij.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog