4 Men Including 2 Afghans Transferred for Execution in Shiraz and Qom

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two unidentified men were transferred to solitary confinement on 21st October in preparation for their executions in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison.

Furthermore, two Afghan nationals were transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells of Qom Central Prison on 22 October.

All four men appear to have been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

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.