Iran | Executions in Rasht, Qom, Neishabur, Qazvin province

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 8, 2025: Farshid Jafarzadeh, Sirouz Zabihi and Ali Saoudi were executed Rasht Central Prison. Another man named Mehdi Rajab Alizadeh was returned to his cell after obtaining a last minute extension in his case.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 7 December 2025. Two of the men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identities have been established as Farshid Jafarzadeh from the village of Gafsheh in Rasht and Sirous Zabihi from Karaj, both 32. Farshid was arrested around five years ago and Sirous was arrested for allegedly killing another individual during a street fight around three years ago.

The third executed man was on death row for drug-related offences. He has been identified as 27-year-old Ali Saoudi from Sari who was arrested around two years ago.

The three men were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions along with another prisoner named Mehdi Rajab Alizadeh. He was returned to his cell after obtaining a last minute extension in his murder case.

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. At least 641 people were executed for murder charges in the first eleven months of 2025.

Execution in Qom

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 7, 2025: Khosrow Nemati, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Qom Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Qom Central Prison on 7 December 2025. His identity has been established as Khosrow Nemati from Saveh. He was arrested around three 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.

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 697 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first eleven months of 2025.

Execution in Neishabur

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 7, 2025: Hassan Bahmani, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Neishabur Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Neishabur Prison on 7 December 2025. His identity has been established as Hassan Bahmani, a 28-year-old man from Neishabur. He was arrested for an honour killing around three 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 for financial corruption

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 7, 2025: State media reported the execution of Mohammad Ghafari for financial corruption at an unspecified location.

According to Mizan News Agency, a man was hanged at an unspecified location on 7 December 2025. Mohammad Ghafari was sentenced to death for “participation in large-scale disruption of the country’s economic system and obtaining large sums of money by accepting deposits from individuals under the guise of muzarabeh and similar schemes, resulting in the squandering of people’s assets and disruption of the country’s economic system, with the intention of confronting the Islamic Republic and in the knowledge that this act would be effective in confronting the system,” as well as “participation in organised (networked) fraud.”

Mohammad Ghafari was executed despite substantial evidence implicating senior state officials and their families in widespread financial corruption, for which no legal proceedings have been initiated.

7 December update: According to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), the execution took place in Qazvin province.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, December 7-8, 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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