Unidentified Afghan National Executed in Karaj

According to Iran newspaper, a man was executed in Rajai Shahr (Gohardasht) Prison on 8 May. The unnamed man was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

Rokna has reported his identity as Saeed, an Afghan national who was arrested four years ago for the murder of a woman during a theft.

According to the 2022 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 582 people were executed in Iran. Of those, 288 were executed for murder charges.

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.

Afghans constitute the largest group of non-Iranian execution and death row cases in Iranian prisons. In 2021, no execution of Afghan nationals was recorded until September, when five men were executed in the space of 35 days. On 10 October 2021, Iran Human Rights expressed its concern that the Taliban takeover in August had facilitated the execution of Afghan nationals. That number more than tripled in 2022, with 16 Afghan nationals including a juvenile offender and a woman executed. At least five Afghans have been executed in 2023.