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

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