According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Qom Central Prison on 16 October 2025. His identity has been established as 25-year-old Reza Yousefi from Qom. He was arrested around four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Two people were injured during an altercation, leaving one dead and the other paralysed. In court, Reza stated he had committed the murder in self-defence. Sources close to the case have said it’s possible that the altercation took place over attempted rape and that the victim died while Reza was defending himself.”
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 nine months of 2025, at least 457 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.
Executions in Tabriz
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2025: Abolfazl Garousi and Shaban Ezati, two men on death row for murder, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 15 October 2025. Their identities have been established as 36-year-old Abolfazl Garousi and 52-year-old Shaban Ezati. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Abolfazl was arrested for the murder of a relative around five years ago and Shaban was arrested for killing another individual on a farm for personal motivations.”
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Execution in Taybad
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2025: Maziar Fathi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Taybad Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Taybad Prison, Khorasan Razavi province, on 15 October 2025. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Maziar Fathi from Taybad
He was arrested for killing another individual during an altercation around 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.
33rd Woman Executed in Iran in 2025
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2025: Nahid Hemati, a woman on death row for drug-related offences, was hanged in Nahavand Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was hanged in Nahavand Prison, Hamedan province, on 15 October 2025. Her identity has been established as Nahid Hemati from Hamedan.
She was arrested around four years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
At the time of writing, her execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Nahid Hemati is the 33rd woman execution recorded in 2025 and the tenth to be hanged for drug-related offences. Iran executes the highest number of women globally. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran, the highest number of recorded women executions in more than 15 years.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.
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 517 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first nine months of 2025.
Executions in Arak
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 17, 2025: Mohammad Rafigh Galeh Bacheh, a Baluch minority, and Massoud Nemati were secretly executed for drug-related offences in Arak Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Arak Central Prison on 15 October 2025. Their identities have been established as Mohammad Rafigh Galeh Bacheh, a Baluch father of two from Zahedan and Massoud Nemati from Arak.
Mohammad was arrested on a transportation route in Arak around three years ago, and Massoud was arrested for possession of heroin three years ago. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
Both men were executed without prior notification, while Iranian law requires the defendant’s family or representative to be notified 48 hours prior to executions. Consequently, they were also deprived of the right to a last family visit.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
"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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