Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 25, 2024: Official media reported the execution of a man only named as Ramezan for murder charges in Mashhad Central Prison.
According to Entekhab, a man was executed in Mashhad Central Prison on 24 July. The man only named as Ramezan, was alleged to have killed a 30-year-old man at his brother’s house on 27 September 2019. He was 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.