Iran | Executions in Mashhad, Kermanshah, Ahvaz, Tabriz, Maragheh, Gorgan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 20, 2025: Mohsen Fakhrayi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Mashhad Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 19 November 2025. His identity has been established as Mohsen Fakhrayi, a 31-year-old father of three from Mashhad.

He was arrested eleven years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

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 ten months of 2025, at least 568 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.

Execution in Kermanshah

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 20, 2025: Peyman Azizi, a Kurdish man on death row for murder, was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Kermanshah (Dizel Abad) Central Prison on 19 November 2025. His identity has been established as Peyman Azizi, a 21-year-old Kurdish man from Salase Babajani. He was arrested two years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Peyman was accused of killing another conscript soldier with a weapon following an argument while he was serving his own conscription.”

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

Executions in Ahvaz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 19, 2025: Hessam Rahimkhani and Javad Moridan, two men on death row for separate murders, were executed in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Ahvaz Sepidar Prison on 17 November 2025. Their identities have been established as 45-year-old Hessam Rahim Khani from Shadegan and 31-year-old Javad Moridan from Ahvaz.

Hessam was arrested after a conflict between several families around five years ago and Javad was arrested around eight years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

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

Executions in Tabriz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 18, 2025: Yadollah Kazemi and Mehrdad Alivand, two men on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Tabriz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 18 November 2025. Their identities have been established as 40-year-old Yadollah Kazemi and 46-year-old Mehrdad Alivand, both Tabriz natives. Yadollah was arrested around three years ago and Mehrdad, around five years ago. 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.

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 612 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first ten months of 2025.

Execution in Maragheh

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 18, 2025: Hossein Farmani and Arya Saeedi, two men on death row for rape and murder respectively, were executed in Maragheh Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Maragheh Prison on 18 November 2025. One of the men was sentenced to death on rape charges. His identity has been established as 27-year-old Hossein Farmani from Khousheh Mehr city. He was arrested at 19 and was transferred from Tabriz Central Prison two days prior to his execution.

The second man has been identified as Arya Saeedi from Marand. He was arrested for an honour killing around five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

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

Execution in Gorgan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 18, 2025: Behzad Hassani, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Gorgan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Gorgan Central Prison on 17 November 2025. His identity has been established as Behzad Hassani. He was arrested for allegedly killing another individual during a street fight around four 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.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, November 18-20, 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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On Sept. 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a death warrant for William Thompson, convicted of the 1976 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 23-year-old Sally Ivester. Thompson, now 74, and another man were staying in a Miami Beach hotel room with Ivester and another woman, according to court records. After Ivester was unable to get money from her mother, the men beat and tortured her, prosecutors said. She died from internal bleeding and multiple injuries. Thompson was convicted in 1978 of kidnapping, rape, and first-degree murder.

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