Naser Atarod Executed in Qom

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Qom Central Prison on 14 May. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Naser Atarod who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Naser Atarod was accused of killing someone in a gym six years ago.”

At the time of writing, his execution has 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.

In 2023, at least 282 people including two juvenile offenders and 15 women, were executed for murder charges, the second highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 20% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2023, Iran Human Rights also recorded 857 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.