Iran Human Rights (IHR); August 17, 2020: A prisoner sentenced to qisas for “murder during an armed robbery”, has been executed at Yasuj Central Prison.
According to ILNA news agency, a prisoner identified as “Ahad” was recently executed in Yasuj Central Prison. The report did not specify the exact date of the execution.
He was accused of robbing a gold jewellery shop along with four other people on 20 January 2018 and killing the goldsmith in the process. Four of the defendants in the case were sentenced to public executions, which following protests, was changed to public executions for three defendants and qisas for the fourth prisoner.
The public execution sentences of the three co-defendants in the case were previously carried out on 13 January 2019 in Haft Tir Square in Yasuj.
According to Iran Human Rights’ annual report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 225 of the 280 of those executed in 2019 were charged with "premeditated murder."
As there are no legal distinctions made between murder and manslaughter, whether voluntary or involuntary in Iran, those charged under the umbrella term of “premeditated murder” will receive the death penalty regardless of intent and the circumstances.