Skip to main content

Iran | Executions in Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Taybad, Borazjan, Birjand, Arak

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 24, 2025: Ali Keshavarz, Sajad Aslani, Ahmad Bakhtiar and Keyvan Rahmati were executed in a group hanging in Isfahan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd ) Central Prison on 24 September 2025. Two of the men were sentenced to death on drug-related charges. Their identities have been established as 30-year-old Ali Keshavarz from the Qashqai tribe in Shiraz, and Sajad Aslani. Ali was arrested four years ago and Sajad, four years ago.

The other two men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identities have been established as Keyvan Rahmati, a 27-year-old man from Hamedan, and Ahmad Bakhtiar, a 45-year-old man from Isfahan who was known as “Taghi Ghasab.” Ahmad was arrested for a murder with a firearm seven years ago.

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 426 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first eight months of 2025.

Group Hanging of at Least 3 Men in Ghezel Hesar Prison


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 24, 2025: At least three men including Farshad Geravand, Ahmadreza Geravand and a man only identified as Amir were executed for drug-related offences in Ghezel Hesar Prison (Karaj).

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least three men were hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison on 24 September 2025. Their identities have been established as Farshad Geravand and Ahmadreza Geravand from Kouhdasht, and a man only identified as Amir.

They were 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.

Two executions in Kermanshah


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 23, 2025: Milad Jameh Shourani and Hadi Norouzi, two Kurdish men on death row for separate murders, were executed in Kermanshah Central Prison. With the previously reported execution of Saeed Ghobadi, three people were hanged at the prison that day.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Kermanshah (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 21 September 2025. Their identities have been established as 27-year-old Kazem (Milad) Jameh Shourani  and 28-year-old Hadi Norouzi, two Kurdish men from Kermanshah.

Kazem was arrested for the murder of his maternal male cousin around seventeen months ago and Hadi was arrested five years ag. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court.

Another Kurdish man named Saeed Ghobadi was previously reported to have been executed at the prison that day, bringing the total number of executions to three at the prison that day.

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 eight months of 2025, at least 375 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.

Execution in Taybad


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 23, 2025: Emad Keshvari, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Taybad Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Taybad Prison on 21 September 2025. His identity has been established as Emad Keshvari, a 30-year-old man.

He was arrested two years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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

Execution in Borazjan


ran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 23, 2025: Ahmad Amoudi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Borazjan Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Borazjan Prison on 15 September 2025. His identity has been established as 36-year-old Ahmad Amoudi.

He was arrested for 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 Birjand 


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 22, 2025: Behzad Nabavi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Birjand Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Birjand Central Prison on 26 August 2025. His identity has been established as Behzad Nabavi from Kerman.

He was arrested on the Shousef to Bijar route on charges of carrying shisheh (methamphetamine) two years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

His execution was carried out without his family being notified and the right to a last family visit.

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

Executions in Isfahan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 22, 2025: Vahid Ebrahimi and Mousa Alizadeh, two men on death row for separate murders, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison. “Vahid didn’t allow anyone to put the noose around his neck, he put it around his own neck himself.”

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 21 September. Their identities have been established as 33-year-old Vahid Ebrahimi from Veldan region in Isfahan and 28-year-old Mousa Alizadeh from Tabriz.

Vahid was arrested seven years ago and Mousa, five years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Vahid didn’t allow anyone to put the noose around his neck, he put it around his own neck himself. Mousa was convicted of a murder committed during a street fight.”

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

Execution in Arak


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 22, 2025: Rasoul Yari, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Arak Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Arak Central Prison on 21 September 2025. His identity has been established as Rasoul Yari, a 35-year-old man from Arak. He was arrested around four years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, September 22-24, 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

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

South Carolina | Inmate who believes he’s died repeatedly can’t be executed, judge rules

SPARTANBURG — A 59-year-old man sentenced to death for killing a state trooper in Greenville County in 2000 can’t be executed because of a mental illness that’s left him incoherent and believing he’s immortal, a Circuit Court judge has ruled. John Richard Wood is the first condemned inmate in South Carolina found not competent to be executed since the state restarted capital punishment in September 2024. The seven executions since then include three men who chose to die by firing squad — the latest in November. Wood, convicted 24 years ago, was among death row inmates in line to receive a death warrant after exhausting their regular appeals.

Idaho eyes restart of death row executions as firing squad draws near

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s prison system has nearly completed execution chamber upgrades to carry out the death penalty by firing squad as the state’s lead method and will have a team of riflemen ready to go by the time a state law takes effect this summer. As part of the transition, the Idaho Department of Correction hopes to limit participation by its officers as the shooting of condemned people in prison to death is prioritized over lethal injection. Toward that effort, prisoner leadership sought to implement a push-button technology to avoid needing IDOC workers to pull the triggers.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term:   Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

China | Man sentenced to death for murder executed in Yunnan

Tian Yongming, who was initially sentenced for a series of violent crimes and then had his sentence changed to death early this year, has been executed in Yunnan province following approval from China's top court. The execution was carried out by the Intermediate People's Court in Yuxi, Yunnan, on Tuesday, with local prosecutors supervising the process. Before the execution, Tian was allowed to meet with his family members. The case dates back to September 1996, when Tian was sentenced to nine years in prison for the rape and attempted murder of his sister-in-law. After his release on July 15, 2002, he plotted revenge against the woman. On the night of Nov 13, 2002, he broke into her home armed with a knife.

South Dakota | Latest appeal from state's lone death row inmate denied

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has rejected the latest appeal from Briley Piper, the only person on death row in South Dakota. In March 2000, Briley Piper, along with co-defendants Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley, conspired to burglarize the Lawrence County home of 19-year-old Chester Poage before abducting and murdering him by beating, stabbing, and stoning in a remote area.  Piper was subsequently arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, while his accomplices received either a death sentence—carried out against Page in 2007—or a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. 

Iran to execute first woman linked to mass protests after ‘forced confessions’

Bita Hemmati and three others have been sentenced to death for 'collusion' and 'propaganda.' Advocates claim the charges are baseless, citing a secretive process and state-televised interrogations. Iranian authorities are preparing to execute Bita Hemmati, the first woman sentenced to death in connection with the mass protests in Tehran in late December and January, according to the US-based non-profit the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Judge Iman Afshari, of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, sentenced Hemmati, her husband, Mohammadreza Majidi Asl, and Behrouz Zamaninezhad, and Kourosh Zamaninezhad to death on the charge of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups,” in addition to discretionary imprisonment period of five years on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.”  

Texas | James Broadnax's appeals: US Supreme Court denies 2 claims, confession pending

Despite an 11th-hour confession from another man, James Broadnax is slated to be executed by the state of Texas later this week.  Broadnax, 37, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection April 30 in Huntsville. He was condemned by a Dallas County jury in 2009 for the deaths of Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, outside their Garland music studio. Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, had set out to rob the men, but left with only $2 and a 1995 Ford, according to previous reporting from The Dallas Morning News. 

Florida executes Chadwick Scott Willacy

STARKE, Fla. -- A Florida man who set his neighbor on fire after she returned from work to find him burglarizing her home was executed Tuesday evening. Chadwick Scott Willacy, 58, received a three-drug injection and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1990 killing of Marlys Sather. It was Florida's fifth execution this year. The curtain to the execution chamber went up promptly at the scheduled 6 p.m. time, and the lethal injection got underway two minutes later, after Willacy made a brief statement.

Arizona | Man who murdered pastor crucifixion style requests plea deal after parents killed in plane crash

Adam Sheafe, the California man who admitted to killing a New River, Arizona, pastor in a crucifixion-style attack, has asked prosecutors to offer him a plea deal that would result in a natural life sentence rather than the death penalty he had previously sought. Advisory council attorneys representing Sheafe sent a formal plea offer to prosecutors this week, about two weeks after his father and stepmother died in a plane crash at Marana Airport on April 8, according to 12 News. Sheafe, 51, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of William Schonemann, 76, pastor of New River Bible Church, who was found dead inside his home last April.

Florida executes James Ernest Hitchcock

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of beating and choking his brother’s 13-year-old stepdaughter to death nearly 50 years ago was executed Thursday evening. James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of the July 1976 killing of Cynthia Driggers. The curtain to the death chamber opened promptly at the 6 p.m. execution time. Hitchcock’s entire body was covered in a sheet up to his head. He stared at the ceiling as the team warden made a call, then gave his final statement.