Azam Gerami 12th Woman Executed in Iran in 2026

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was hanged in Yasuj Central Prison on 18 July 2026. Her identity has been established as Azam Gerami, a 58-year-old mother of three from a village outside Yasuj. She was arrested eight years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Azam was accused of killing her husband’s cousin on farmland in their home village using a hunting rifle.”

At the time of writing, her execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Azam Gerami is the twelfth woman execution recorded in 2026. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades. Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally.

In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering. 

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 diya 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. Should the victim’s family choose execution, they are not only encouraged to attend, but also to physically carry out the execution themselves.

According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 747 people including 48 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Under 7% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2025, IHRNGO also recorded 566 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.