Afghan National Ali Omar Amrolelahi and Unknown Man Executed in Qom

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed on murder charges in Qom Central Prison on the morning of October 13. The identity of one of them has been established as Afghan national Ali Omar Amrolelahi and the identity of the second man is unknown at the time of writing.

Informed sources told Iran Human Rights: “Ali Omar Amrolelahi was arrested for killing someone over honour issues four years ago and had been behind bars since.”

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

There are currently more than ten Afghan nationals on death row in Qom Central Prison. Three have been sentenced to qisas for murder and the other seven were sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

One of the men, Mazar-e-Sharif-native Abdol Yaghoub was 19 years old when he was arrested three years ago on charges of “killing the security guard of a company building” and sentenced to qisas.

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.