Death Penalty News

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 9, 2025: Goli Kouhkan, a 25-year-old undocumented Baluch child bride who was scheduled to be executed within weeks, has been saved from the gallows after the diya (blood money) was raised in time. According to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency , the plaintiffs in the case of Goli Kouhkan, have agreed to forgo their right to execution as retribution. In a video, the victim’s parents are seen signing the relevant documents. Goli’s lawyer, Parand Gharahdaghi, confirmed in a social media post that the original 10 billion (approx. 100,000 euros) toman diya was reduced to 8 billion tomans (approx. 80,000 euros) and had been raised through donations and charities.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 17, 2025: A woman named Ghomri Abbaszadeh was executed for the murder of her husband in Sari Central Prison. This is the 40th execution of a woman recorded in 2025 by IHRNGO and the highest recorded figure in more than two decades.  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.

After seven years, her husband’s family have agreed to forgo execution if she pays 10 billion tomans in blood money and agrees to leave Gorgan forever. Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 6, 2025: Goli Kouhkan, a 25-year-old undocumented Baluch woman who was a child bride in a physically abusive marriage, is scheduled to be executed for a murder she did not commit within months if she cannot raise the €100k blood money demanded by the victim’s family.

Mahsa Akbari, a woman on death row for murder, was executed in Shiraz Central Prison.  According to Tabnak, a woman was hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 20 August 2025. The unnamed woman was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. IHRNGO has established her identity as Mahsa Akbari.  An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mahsa was arrested for murder 2 years ago. She was married at 16 and her husband had forced her into participating in a robbery that had ended with the murder of a mother and her 3 young daughters.”

Many Were Child Brides Hanged for Murder of Abusive Husbands From Whom There Was No Protection  December 18, 2024 — Amidst a huge surge in executions in the Islamic Republic— 862 so far in 2024, the highest per capita execution rate globally—the Iranian authorities are now increasingly including women in those it sends to the gallows. Since the start of 2024, Iran has executed at least 29 women. More executions of women may have taken place that are unknown.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 6, 2024: Ghafar Hivechi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Gonbad Kavous Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Gonbad Kavous Prison in Golestan province on 1st October. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Ghafar Hivechi from the Doughman Turkman tribe. He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Sunday that his government has achieved more for women in the past decade than all previous governments since Independence.  Speaking at the Lakhpati Didi rally in Jalgaon, north Maharashtra, Modi said that his government is also reinforcing laws to impose harsher penalties for crimes against women.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 15 2024: Marjan Hajizadeh and Esmail Hassaniani, a couple sentenced to death for drug-related charges in a joint case, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison.  Marjan is reported to have been 16 at the time of arrest, which IHRNGO is working to confirm. If verified, she will be the first child offender executed for drug charges since 2014. She was also a child bride forced into marriage.

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 has led to a surge in child marriage, as families struggle to cope with the economic and social upheaval. According to a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reported by the Independent newspaper, the number of child marriages in Afghanistan has increased by 25% since the Taliban took power.

Iran this week hanged a young woman convicted of murdering her husband, whom she married while still a child, defying international pressure for her to be pardoned. The Islamic regime in Iran is engaged in a war against its own people as it executes them for minor offenses or no offense at all. Since the beginning of the year, Iran executed at least 419 people – a major increase from the same period in 2022.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 20, 2023: Samira Sabzian, a woman sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Ghezelhesar Prison. Condemning Samira’s execution, IHRNGO urges the international community for a serious reaction to the high rise in executions. Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Samira was a victim of years of gender apartheid, child marriage, and domestic violence, and today she fell victim to the incompetent and corrupt regime’s killing machine. A regime that has sustained itself solely through killing and instilling fear. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for this crime.”

Iranian authorities have postponed the execution of a victim of child marriage who had been sentenced to death for killing her husband , according to local human rights activists. Samira Sabzian was set to be hanged on December 13 in Qarchak prison, Tehran province, but the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said that the execution was postponed for a week. “However, this week will pass quickly, and we must continue the campaign to save Samira with greater strength,” IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said on the social media platform X.

Child Bride Samira Sabzian who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of her husband, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, 13th of December. Her 2 children visited her in prison for the first time to bid goodbye and she has now been transferred to solitary confinement in Qarchak Prison. Iran Human Rights calls on the international community to do everything in their power to save Samira’s life.

Iran joined this Commission dedicated to promoting gender equality as a new member on Tuesday, for a four-year mandate. The news was received coldly. Several new members, including Iran and Pakistan, were elected Tuesday to join the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) - an intergovernmental body "dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and “empowerment of women ”, it is written on the UN website . The CSW is a 45-member functional commission belonging to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and was established in 1946. At an ECOSOC session on Tuesday, 12 new members were elected to join the CSW in 2022 and for a four-year term. 

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 7, 2023: Mahboubeh Roshandel, a 27-year-old woman sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Mashhad Central Prison. She is the 200th woman execution recorded since 2010 and the 12th woman executed in 2023. Of the 200 women executions recorded by Iran Human Rights since 2010, 94 were executed for drug-related charges, 90 for murder, four for “participating in immoral sexual acts and misusing drugs,” two for espionage and one for moharebeh (enmity against god). The charges against nine of the women are unknown.

Soheila Abadi, now 25, was hanged in prison for killing her husband A child bride who killed the man she was forced to marry when she was 15 is among 3 women executed in Iran for murdering their husbands this week. Soheila Abadi, now 25, was hanged in prison after she was convicted of killing her husband over 'family disputes' according to the sentencing courts. 2 other women executed on Wednesday were also convicted of murdering their husbands, Human Rights Watch said. Activists claim that most incidents of wives killing their husbands are sparked by domestic violence but the Iranian courts do not take this into account. The trio are among 32 people hanged in the country in just the past week. It comes amid a surge in executions across the country, with at least 251 people killed by the state killed in the first 6 months of the year, Amnesty International reported. The figure is more than double the number executed over the same period last year. The charity accused Iran of ca...

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 27, 2022: Gholam Nourzehi, a Baluch man, Afghan-national Jomeh Barakzehi and Mohammad Izadi were executed in Isfahan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Isfahan Central Prison on July 26. Their identities have been established as 40-year-old Gholam Nourzehi, a Baluch man living in Isfahan and 38-year-old Jomeh Barakzehi, an Afghan national who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges in the same case. Hal Vash which first reported their executions writes that they were arrested in Isfahan as part of the same case three years and detained in Isfahan Central Prison since. Hal Vash has also reported the execution of another man at the prison on July 25. His identity has been reported as 35-year-old Mohammad Izadi who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder after being arrested five years ago. At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic m...

February saw the Iranian regime ratchet up social clampdown in step with the growing discontent and the spread of popular protests. The increasing repression was vividly evident in the regime’s persistent use of the death penalty and widespread arrests of civil activists and dissidents. Torture, degrading punishments, and persecution of citizens continued in Iran. The regime violated the right to peaceful assembly by the arrest of a number of teachers, during the nationwide sit-ins and demonstrations of Iranian teachers. The regime also escalated pressure on prisoners, especially those incarcerated on political grounds. Meanwhile, new prison sentences were issued for civil activists in various cities, and some were summoned to serve their sentences. The clerical regime also violated the principle of separation of crimes by banishing political prisoners to remote prisons and among ordinary convicts. Iran HRM Monthly Report, February 2022, is a brief review on the abysmal conditions of h...

The Iranian regime stepped-up repression by the soaring executions and widespread arrests of civil activists and protesters, on the one hand, and escalated pressure on prisoners, especially those incarcerated on political grounds. January saw the clerical regime ratchet up social clampdown in step with the growing discontent and the spread of popular protests. Arbitrary killings, violations of prisoners’ rights, as well as torture and ill-treatment of civilians continued. Prisoners also experienced greater pressure than before. New prison sentences were issued for civil activists in various cities, and some were summoned to serve their sentences. In some cases, security forces used brute force to transfer them to jail. The clerical regime also violated the principle of separation of crimes by banishing political prisoners to remote prisons and among ordinary convicts. This month’s report is a brief review of the abysmal conditions of human rights in Iran. Executions The stepped-up repr...

The victim was just 12 years old when she married the man, who was also her cousin, and had a three-year-old son when she was murdered In the southern city of Ahvaz on Saturday, February 5, an unnamed Iranian man killed his 17-year-old wife Mona Heydari before carrying her severed head through the streets of the city. After attempting to depart the country, his wife was kidnapped and killed in an 'honor killing.' After her family realized that she was having an affair, the young wife is said to have fled to Turkey. According to local media sources, her father and husband hunted her down in the country and brought her back to Iran this week. The victim was just 12 years old when she married the man, who was also her cousin, and had a three-year-old son when she was murdered. RELATED | Who was Alireza Monfared? Iranian gay man, 20, beheaded by step-brother and cousins in alleged 'honor killing ' RELATED | Iranian father bludgeons 22-year-old daughter to death for coming h...