Child Bride Marzieh Nayeri Hanged for Murder in Self-Defence

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was hanged in Qazvin (Choobindar) Central Prison on 8 August 2026. Her identity has been established as 24-year-old Marizeh Nayeri who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of her husband by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: " Marzieh Nayeri, a native of a village between Qazvin and Karaj, was a victim of forced child marriage. Six years ago, when she was just 17 years old, her family forced her into marrying a man named Davoud who she didn’t want to marry. Her husband worked in real estate with two partners and frequently hosted drug and alcohol sessions at home. When they were drunk, they would try to assault her but her husband would say nothing and kept inviting them to the house.”

The source further explained: “Five years ago, in early October, when Marzieh was 18, Davoud brought one of his partners, Alireza, home for lunch. After heavy drinking, Alireza approached her in front of her husband and attempted to sexually assault her. To defend herself, Marzieh struck Alireza with a kitchen knife, injuring him, then stabbed her husband several times with the same blade. She fled the house and sought refuge with her brother, who promised to help her but handed her over to the police four days later.”

Regarding the trial proceedings, the informed source added: “Marzieh testified under oath that her husband's partners had repeatedly tried to sexually assault her and that on the day of the incident, she had only picked up the knife to defend her life and honour. However, Alireza, who survived his injuries, denied all of Marzieh's statements in court, claiming instead that she was having an affair and looking for an excuse to murder her husband. Disregarding the evidence, the court rejected her claim of self-defence. Her husband’s family refused to forgo their right to execution.”

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

Marzieh Nayeri is the fourteenth woman execution recorded in 2026. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades. Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally.

In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering. 

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 diya 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 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 747 people including 48 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Under 7% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2025, IHRNGO also recorded 566 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.