Death Penalty News

Kolthum Akbari, an Iranian woman widely dubbed the “Black Widow,” was convicted of serial murders of elderly men she married, often temporarily. Official accounts generally center on 11 murders (plus one attempted murder), though Akbari herself gave varying figures and investigations suggested she had many more marriages.  The sentencing occurred primarily in September 2025 in Mazandaran Province, with ongoing reporting and updates into 2026. The 56- to 59-year-old killer confessed to killing at least 11 elderly men after temporarily or officially marrying them; Iranian authorities have linked her to additional marriages and possible further victims.

Iranian authorities executed Marzieh Nayeri, a 24-year-old woman who had been forced into marriage as a child, at Qazvin Central Prison, also known as Choubindar Prison. She had been sentenced to death for the murder of her husband. According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Nayeri was executed at dawn on Aug. 8, 2026, at Qazvin Central Prison. Sources familiar with the case said that in late September 2021, when Nayeri was 18, a business associate of her husband named Alireza attempted to sexually assault her after consuming alcohol in the presence of her husband. Nayeri injured the man with a kitchen knife while defending herself and subsequently killed her husband. After four days in hiding, she sought refuge with her brother, who later turned her over to police.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 17 July 2026: Following yesterday’s execution of Parvin Chardoli at Ghezel Hesar Prison, the number of women executed in Iran since 2010 has reached at least 300. The Islamic Republic of Iran carries out the highest recorded execution of women worldwide while enforcing a system of gender apartheid. In 2025, IHRNGO recorded 48 executions, the highest number since the execution of women began being systematically recorded more than twenty years ago. In 2026, at least eleven women have been executed.

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.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 6, 2025: State media have reported the execution of a woman only named as Saghar for murder charges at an unspecified location in Alborz/Tehran. The victim’s family accepted blood money and spared the life of her male co-defendant. According to a report published by Rokna on 1st May 2025, an unidentified woman was executed at an unspecified location. Only named as Saghar, she was arrested six years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of her husband in the Kamalshahr in the west of Karaj. It appears that she was executed in a Tehran/Alborz prison.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 1, 2025: Mahnaz Kakaei and Ali Soufian, a woman and man on death row for murder and drug-related charges, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and a man were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central prison on 29 March. The woman’s identity has been established as 24-year-old Mahnaz Kakayi who was arrested for the murder of her fiancé four years and seven months ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

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.

According to reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor, the Iranian judiciary carried out the execution sentences of 9 individuals on Saturday and Sunday, July 20th and 21st, in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, and Diezelabad Prison in Kermanshah.

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.

The woman managed to secure a safe haven visa but not her parents and brother, who escaped with her to Australia The family of a woman who fled Iran after facing the death penalty for escaping an arranged marriage has been granted the chance to stay with her in Australia. Despite an Immigration Assessment Authority decision to deport the woman’s parents and brother, the federal circuit court has ruled the trio should have their application for asylum reviewed. The Immigration Assessment Authority, established by Tony Abbott’s Coalition government nearly a decade ago, is tasked with reviewing fast-track decisions to refuse protection visas by the federal immigration minister.

Pakistan has received 340 recommendations from UN member states on its 4th periodic report on the human rights situation in the country, and the government will examine these recommendations and report back to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in its forthcoming meeting. A draft report prepared on Wednesday by the Working Group on Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, available with Dawn, stated: “All conclusions and/or recommendations contained in the present report reflect the position of the submitting state(s) and/or the state under review. They should not be construed as endorsed by the Working Group as a whole.”

Convict admitted to having killed his bride because he had an affair with another woman An Egyptian court had sentenced a man to death after convicting him of murdering his bride on the eve of their wedding, local media reported.  The verdict was issued by a criminal court in the provincial governorate of Qaliubia, north of Cairo.  The court said it will send the ruling to the Mufti of Republic, Egypt’s top Islamic authority, for approval, a routine procedure in cases involving death sentencing.  The court has set March 6 for a final verdict. The case dates back to last October when the woman was found dead in an unused plot of land near her house. Police investigations showed that the murderer was her cousin, who was set to marry her. The suspect, identified only as Ahmed, admitted to having lured the woman and fatally stabbed her, saying he had unwillingly agreed to marry her to please his parents while he was in love with another woman. Having made sure, his would-be w...

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); February 8, 2022: Sentenced to qisas for murder, Mirza Rouhifar was executed in Aligoudarz Prison on February 7. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Aligoudarz Prison on the morning of February 7. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Mirza Rouhifar, who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Speaking to Iran Human Rights, an informed source said: “Mirza Rouhifar sold tyres prior to his arrest. He was arrested on charges of murdering his neighbour over financial disputes and sentenced to death.” At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran. According to Iran Human Rights’ Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 211 of the 267 people executed in 2020 were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for "premeditated murder." As there are no legal distinctions made between murder and manslaughter, whether voluntary or involun...

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...

The authorities of the Central Prison of Qazvin (a.k.a. Chubindar) hanged a young woman by the name of Khatoun Hamidi on the morning of Saturday, February 5, 2022. Khatoun Hamidi, 23, was accused of deliberate murder for which she was sentenced to death. The execution of Khatoun Hamidi brings to 130 the number of women executed in Iran since summer 2013. An informed source said Khatoun Hamidi was arrested and detained five years ago after killing her fiancé. She did not love her fiancé and had been forced by her father, a drug addict, to marry him because he was rich. The sources added, “Khatoun had just one brother. Her mother had died, and she did not have anyone. Her brother tried hard to receive the consent of the parents of the victim, but they did not accept and demanded retribution.” Although her exact age is not known, human rights organizations suspect that Khatoun Hamidi was under 18 years of age at the time of committing the crime. The state media in Iran have not yet announ...

Ebrahim Raisi will become president of Iran in just over a week, even though (or perhaps, because) his resume is filled with crimes against the Iranian people and humanity.  Shortly after his ascension was announced, Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard criticized Raisi’s rise to the second-most powerful position in the country. Callamard wrote: “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran…” Let’s look into that a little more. Executions The Iranian regime is the world leader in executions per capita because the mullahs use the death penalty as a tool for repression, murdering political activists to intimidate the wider public into submission, although it should be noted that this doesn’t just apply to the regime’s enemies. This has increased markedly during Raisi’s stint as Judiciary Chief from 20...

Only three weeks after the harrowing murder of Romina Ashrafi ,13, who was beheaded in her sleep by her own father, two young women are murdered by their family members. The tragic deaths of Fatemeh Barihi, 19 and Reyhaneh Ameri, 22, who were murdered by their husband and father respectively, reinitiated the bitter debate over the savage honor killings in Iran sanctioned and institutionalized by the laws of the clerical regime. Reyhaneh Ameri, 22, was killed on June 15 by her father with an ax for coming home late. Reyhaneh had returned home at around 11:30 pm the night before and had a quarrel with her father. Her sister went to her parents’ home on Monday at around 8:30 or 9 am. When she entered there was no one home and Reyhaneh’s room was locked. She knocked constantly and no one answered. She noticed the rugs were in disarray. A few minutes later her father came home. Noticing her daughter the father was caught off guard, said he doesn’t know where the other...

Mehak Kumari who had earlier admitted to willfully marrying Ali Raza and denied any external pressure behind her conversion to Islam has now retracted this statement of hers and alleged that she was forcefully converted to Islam. Radical Islamists and clerics in Pakistan have demanded the beheading of a Hindu minor girl named Mehak Kumari, who was abducted, converted to Islam and forcibly married to a Muslim man, for leaving Islam.  Mehak was abducted from the Jacobabad district of Sindh province in Pakistan on January 15.  These Pakistani clerics now want the minor girl dead after Mehak retracted her previous statement in the court, where she had said that she had accepted Islam of her own free will. In a video going viral on Twitter, few radical Islamists and clerics of Pakistan are heard blaming 14-year-old Mehak of murtad , or an act of Apostasy, and are demanding death punishment, accusing her of insulting Islam. One of the clerics added that they h...