Zakaria Rigi and Hojat Seif Panah Secretly Executed in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Shiraz Central Prison on December 4. Their identities have been established as Zakaria Rigi, a Baluch citizen from Zahedan and Hojat Seif Panah from Babol. They were sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Zakaria Rigi was a construction worker in Shiraz and had committed the murder in a mass brawl. Hojat Seifi Panah had killed his employer over money without prior planning.”

Zakaria and Hojat were transferred for execution from the solitary confinement of a punitive ward at the prison. They were executed without notice to their families and the opportunity to say goodbye.

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

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.