Abbas Karimi Obtains Last Minute Extension in Capital Case

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Abbas Karimi was spared from execution at the last minute on 3 October in Isfahan Central Prison when the victim’s family changed their mind and agreed to a two-week extension and a reduction in the blood money from 70 billion tomans (€1,060,000) to 40 billion.

Abbas Karimi is a 36-year-old man who has been on death row for a murder during a street fight nine years ago. He is a father to two young children who have been campaigning to save their father.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “The victim’s family had demanded 70 billion tomans on 20 September. But this time they agreed to accept 40 billion and Abbas Karimi’s family are trying to raise the money. They have until 6 October to raise 10 billion tomans and 5 December to raise the remaining 30 billion.”

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.

The Head of Judiciary sets an annual indicative amount for diya based on inflation and other considerations, but the victim’s family can choose their own amount. They can demand a lower or higher amount than the judiciary’s indicative number but crucially, no upper limit is set. The diya indicative amounts, which are determined every March, were set at 900 mil- lion tomans (€18,000) for a Muslim man and 450 million tomans (€9,000) for a Muslim woman in March 2023. The amount set by families is usually higher than the indicative amount and even the indicative amount is higher than what most families can afford.