Of the recorded executions, 13 were for drug-related offences and 27 for murder, with 17 being convicted of murdering their spouses. At least one of the women was a child bride. Only two or 5% of the executions were reported by official sources, a marked decline in transparency.
In January, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty: a Gendered Perspective” which documented the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate the suffering and vulnerability of women on death row in Iran.
IHRNGO Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “The execution of women in Iran reveals not just the brutality of the death penalty, but the depth of systemic gender inequality in the judicial system. We call on the international community to act urgently to address the systemic injustices and gender apartheid faced by women in Iran and to intensify efforts to save those on death row.”
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was hanged in Sari Central Prison on 13 November 2025. Her identity has been established as 29-year-old Ghomri Abbaszadeh. She was arrested for the murder of her husband around six years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ghomri was in a forced marriage and the pressures resulting from this marriage have been cited as factors underlying this case."
At the time of writing, her execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Ghomri’s case is not unique. Goli Kouhkan, an undocumented Baluch child bride, is scheduled to be executed for the murder of her abusive husband next month if she cannot raise the diya (blood money) demanded by the victim’s family. On 4 November, IHRNGO called for action to save her life.
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 ten months of 2025, at least 568 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.
Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, November 17, 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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