Unidentified 37-year-old Man Executed in Mashhad

According to the official Khorasan newspaper, a man was executed in Mashhad Central Prison on June 30. Sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, he has only been identified as 37-year-old M.

He was accused of killing a shepherd with a gun near the village of Khour in Mashhad on 29 July 2018. The report does not cite the motives or circumstances of the case.

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 involuntary in Iran, those charged under the umbrella term of “premeditated murder” will receive the death penalty regardless of intent and the circumstances.