Unidentified Afghan Man with Mental Disorder Executed in Rafsanjan

According to IRNA, an Afghan national was executed in Rafsanjan Prison on 13 August. The unnamed was sentenced to death for charges of moharebeh for killing six Afghan nationals and four Rafsanjan residents on 7 August 2022.

Ebrahim Hamidi, the Kerman Chief Justice said: “The defendant attempted suicide after fleeing the scene but the police and ambulance arrived in time and he was transferred to a medical centre for treatment. After a partial recovery, the defendant appeared before the special homicide investigator of Rafsanjan and was charged with committing 10 counts of intentional murder with a cold weapon, assault by drawing a weapon with the intention of killing, which led to public insecurity, and being in the country illegally.”

According to another state report, the executed man suffered from a mental disorder.

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. Crucially, while an indicative amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money.

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.